Peer Capital One (NYSE: COF) is up 33% year-to-date, while Visa and Mastercard stocks are up by about 22% and 23% respectively.

Shares of American Express Co. AXP inched 0.05% higher to $298.80 Monday, on what proved to be an all-around great trading session for the stock market, with the S&P 500 Index SPX rising 0.73% to 5,974.07 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA rising 0.16% to 42,906.95. This was the stock's third consecutive day of gains.

American Express AXP -0.73% + Free Alerts has outperformed the market over the past 15 years by 2.29% on an annualized basis producing an average annual return of 14.18%. Currently, American Express has a market capitalization of $212.28 billion.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday. A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company.

Shares of American Express Co. AXP slipped 0.73% to $301.34 Tuesday, on what proved to be an all-around grim trading session for the stock market, with the S&P 500 Index SPX falling 0.39% to 6,050.61 and Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA falling 0.61% to 43,449.90.