American Express (NYSE:AXP) May Return Capital to Shareholders Soon

Based upon the Federal Reserve clarifying bank divident policies, Barclays (NYSE:BCS) sees the probability of American Express (NYSE:AXP) being able to return capital to shareholders in the near future.

Barclays says, "With credit costs already approaching normalized, we expect the focus will continue to shift more toward spend levels, balance sheet growth, and use of excess capital. Increasingly difficult comps could limit spend growth in the coming months, but Fed clarification on bank dividend policies could enable AXP to return excess capital to shareholders soon, which could be a positive catalyst for the stock. We view valuation as attractive at only 12.2x our 2011 EPS estimate and reiterate our rating."

Barclays maintains an "Overweight" rating on American Express (AXP), which was trading at $45.15, losing $1.22, or 2.63 percent, as of 1:31 PM EST. Barclays has a price target of $55 on American Express.