Goldman Sachs Maintains Buy on American Express

Goldman Sachs is out with its report today on American Express AXP, maintaining Buy. In a note to clients, Goldman Sachs writes, "Buy-rated AXP is set to report earnings after the close on Wednesday, July 20. We expect AXP to report 2Q11 EPS of $1.01 vs. consensus of $0.98, with the upside driven by incremental spending and higher reserve releases. We expect expenses to remain elevated in 2Q11 (1-2 more quarters) as AXP invests in growth. While yoy loan balances fell nine consecutive quarters before flattening out in 1Q11, we expect 2Q11 to be an inflection point for loan balances, which should continue to grow from here." Goldman Sachs maintains a $59 PT on AXP. Shares of AXP closed Monday at $51.33, down 0.93% from Friday's close.