American Express price target raised to $159 from $157 at BMO Capital

BMO Capital analyst James Fotheringham raised the firm’s price target on American Express to $159 from $157 but keeps an Underperform rating on the shares. The company reported in-line Q4 result and offered better-than-feared FY24 guidance, though its higher-than-previously-modeled card fees and higher net interest income is partially offset by higher expected operating and credit costs, the analyst tells investors in a research note. BMO adds that it remains worried about the deteriorating credit quality, relatively low reserves, decelerating spending growth, VCE cost inflation, and wider-than-normal valuation gap of American Express relative to lending peers.