On Jul 5, the stock of American Express Co. (AXP - Free Report) hit a 52-week high of $85.88. The rise in the stock is believed to have been driven by the recent announcement that it will hike quarterly dividend and increase share repurchase.
In the past one year, the stock has returned 42%, outdoing the Zacks categorized Financial-Miscellaneous Services industry’s gain of 31% and the return of 15% from the S&P 500 index.
Investors are impressed with “no-objection” received by the company from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to its capital plan submitted recently. The plan submission was part of the 2017 Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR).
Pursuant to the capital plan, the company will increase quarterly dividend by 9.4% to 35 cents per share, beginning with the third quarter. It also plans to repurchase up to $4.4 billion of common shares during the approval period from the third quarter of 2017 to the second quarter of 2018.
Investors drew solace from the passage of the company’s capital plan, which testifies to its adequate capital and that sturdy capital structure under various stress-test scenarios. It also implies that planned capital distributions, such as dividends and share repurchases, are viable and acceptable in relation to the regulatory body’s minimum capital requirements.
American Express, which left investors worried after it lost one of its major clients Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST - Free Report) , recently calmed them to some extent after winning exclusive rights as a credit card issuer for Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. Though the business to be bought under the Hilton deal is very small compared with the loss of Costco, investors are optimistic about several initiatives taken up by American Express to regain its lost glory.
Efforts aimed at driving new card acquisitions across its global consumer and commercial portfolios, expanding merchant coverage, speeding up its lending growth initiatives, providing attractive rewards, and benefits to lure and retain its customers are being viewed favorably by its investors.
American Express carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked players in the financial services space are Visa Inc. (V - Free Report) and Alliance Data Systems Corp. . Each of these stocks carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Alliance Data beat estimates in two of the last four quarters, with an average positive surprise of 2.15%.
Visa beat estimates in each of the last four quarters, with an average positive surprise of 7.24%.
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And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - Q1 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 11X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation. See Them Free>>
Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.
This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.
Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>
On Jul 5, the stock of American Express Co. (AXP - Free Report) hit a 52-week high of $85.88. The rise in the stock is believed to have been driven by the recent announcement that it will hike quarterly dividend and increase share repurchase.
In the past one year, the stock has returned 42%, outdoing the Zacks categorized Financial-Miscellaneous Services industry’s gain of 31% and the return of 15% from the S&P 500 index.
Investors are impressed with “no-objection” received by the company from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to its capital plan submitted recently. The plan submission was part of the 2017 Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR).
Pursuant to the capital plan, the company will increase quarterly dividend by 9.4% to 35 cents per share, beginning with the third quarter. It also plans to repurchase up to $4.4 billion of common shares during the approval period from the third quarter of 2017 to the second quarter of 2018.
Investors drew solace from the passage of the company’s capital plan, which testifies to its adequate capital and that sturdy capital structure under various stress-test scenarios. It also implies that planned capital distributions, such as dividends and share repurchases, are viable and acceptable in relation to the regulatory body’s minimum capital requirements.
American Express, which left investors worried after it lost one of its major clients Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST - Free Report) , recently calmed them to some extent after winning exclusive rights as a credit card issuer for Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. Though the business to be bought under the Hilton deal is very small compared with the loss of Costco, investors are optimistic about several initiatives taken up by American Express to regain its lost glory.
Efforts aimed at driving new card acquisitions across its global consumer and commercial portfolios, expanding merchant coverage, speeding up its lending growth initiatives, providing attractive rewards, and benefits to lure and retain its customers are being viewed favorably by its investors.
American Express carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked players in the financial services space are Visa Inc. (V - Free Report) and Alliance Data Systems Corp. . Each of these stocks carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Alliance Data beat estimates in two of the last four quarters, with an average positive surprise of 2.15%.
Visa beat estimates in each of the last four quarters, with an average positive surprise of 7.24%.
Today's Stocks from Zacks' Hottest Strategies
It's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +18.8% from 2016 - Q1 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +157.0%, +128.0%, +97.8%, +94.7%, and +90.2% respectively.
And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - Q1 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 11X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation. See Them Free>>
Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.
This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.
Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>
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