5 Best Value Stocks in Warren Buffett’s Portfolio

2. American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Berkshire Hathaway’s Stake Value: $25,399,340,000

Percentage of Berkshire Hathaway’s 13F Portfolio: 8.65%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 57

P/E Ratio: 17.45

American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), a multinational payment card services company, posted on October 22 its Q3 results. EPS for the period came in at $2.27, exceeding estimates by $0.52. The revenue amounted to $10.93 billion, up 24.88% year-over-year, outperforming estimates by $382.39 million.

8.65% of Berkshire Hathaway’s Q3 investments are represented by American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) stock, with Warren Buffett holding 151.6 million shares of the company, worth $25.39 billion at the end of September this year. American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) is one of the best value stocks in Warren Buffett’s portfolio.

The smart money took a greater interest in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) in the third quarter, with 57 hedge funds being bullish on the stock at September end, up from 52 funds holding stakes in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) in the preceding quarter. Fisher Asset Management is a notable stakeholder of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) in Q3, with 15.6 million shares valued at $2.61 billion.

After the Q3 earnings beat, BMO Capital analyst James Fotheringham on October 25 raised the price target on American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) to $151 from $147 but kept a Market Perform rating on the shares. In addition to the strong Q3 earnings, the analyst revised his model for American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) to forecast higher net interest income, lower loan loss provisions, and lower share counts.

Here is what ClearBridge Investments has to say about American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) in its Q2 2021 investor letter:

“In financials, American Express has done an excellent job demonstrating the resiliency of its franchise in the midst of a global pandemic that drove a 60% decline in its core travel and entertainment business. The company’s spend-centric model has been helped by fiscal stimulus ensuring a flush consumer, while management continues to execute well by adding millions of new consumer and small and medium business accounts, which should benefit the franchise over the medium to long term. We remain optimistic regarding the company’s prospects as travel and entertainment activity rebounds, adding to our position in the quarter.”