Stock Update: American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) – Hiring Plans on the Rise but Finding the Right Staff is the Biggest Challenge to Growth Since Recession, Says American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor

[Business Wire] – As small business owners’ optimism and plans for growth remain steady, their hiring plans have increased from a year ago, according to the 2016 American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor. Read more on this. American Express Company (AXP) , currently valued at $63.12B, started trading this morning at $66.39. Looking at the equity, the company’s one day range is $65.83 to $66.67 with a trailing 52-week range being $50.27 to $81.92. AXP shares are currently priced at 11.77x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively inexpensive compared to the industry’s 14.27x earnings multiple for the same period. And for income investors, the company pays shareholders $1.16 per share annually in dividends, yielding 1.76%. Consensus earnings for the current quarter by the 24 sell-side analysts covering the stock is an estimate of $1.94 per share, which would be $0.52 better than the year-ago quarter and a $0.19 sequential increase. Investors should also note that the full-year EPS estimate of $5.58 is a $0.20 better when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is based on a consensus revenue forecast of the current quarter of $8.36 Billion. If realized, that would be a 0.97% increase over the year-ago quarter. More recently, Compass Point Initiated AXP at Buy (Apr 15, 2016). Previously, Oppenheimer upgraded AXP from Underperform to Perform. The average price target for AXP shares by the analysts covering it is $66.13, which is 0.39% below where the stock opened. See more in (NYSE:AXP) Similar Articles: Market Update: American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) – WIPP and American Express OPEN Celebrate First-Time Achievement of 5% Federal Contracting Goal for Women-Owned Small Businesses Market Update (NYSE:AXP): Small Business Owners Investing Significant Personal Time and Savings to Grow Their Business, According to American Express OPEN Research Company Update: American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) – American Express Plans Live Audio Webcast of the Fourth Quarter 2015 Earnings Conference Call