American Express (AXP) to Release Earnings on Friday

American Express (NYSE:AXP) will issue its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Friday, April 19th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $3.01 per share for the quarter. American Express has set its FY 2024 guidance at 12.650-13.150 EPS and its FY24 guidance at $12.65-13.15 EPS.Individual interested in listening to the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. On average, analysts expect American Express to post $13 EPS for the current fiscal year and $15 EPS for the next fiscal year.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $218.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $158.09 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week 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. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $219.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $187.37.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.18%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were 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 directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. 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. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on American Express from $157.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on American Express in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $235.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.