Hsbc Global Res Downgrades American Express (NYSE:AXP) to Hold

American Express (NYSE:AXP) was downgraded by equities researchers at Hsbc Global Res from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America upped their price target on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $239.96.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $269.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $254.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $240.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $276.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $193.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.89 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth $433,709,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its holdings in American Express by 924.2% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 851,431 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $197,149,000 after purchasing an additional 768,301 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in American Express by 8.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,923,399,000 after purchasing an additional 662,382 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new stake in American Express during the first quarter valued at about $114,990,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in American Express by 71.9% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,164,098 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $269,547,000 after purchasing an additional 486,755 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

About American Express

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.