Morgan Stanley Believes Coming Pref Issuance Offsets Strong Volumes For American Express

In a report published Thursday, Morgan Stanley analyst Betsy L. Graseck reiterated an Overweight rating and $110.00 price target on American Express Company (NYSE: AXP).

In the report, Morgan Stanley noted, “Spending growth was great, up 9.3% y/y, beating our above consensus estimate of 9.0%. Better exps and lower credit offset modest margin decline. EPS down 1% in 2014 as CFO guided to rising pref issuance over time. We are OW on accelerating spend, aided by reinvesting of $700mn Concur gain.”

American Express Company closed on Wednesday at $80.93.