American Express (NYSE:AXP) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

American Express (NYSE:AXP) issued its earnings results on Friday. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. American Express updated its FY 2024 guidance to 12.650-13.150 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $12.65-$13.15 EPS.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $13.54 during trading on Friday, hitting $231.04. The company had a trading volume of 7,573,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,444,438. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $220.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $231.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Express

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tyler Stone Wealth Management purchased a new position in American Express in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. purchased a new position in American Express during the third quarter valued at $53,000. Castleview Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, Financial Freedom LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Morgan Stanley lowered American Express from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $212.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on American Express from $157.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Stephens upgraded American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $201.62.

About American Express

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.