American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $323.12, but opened at $332.38. American Express shares last traded at $337.55, with a volume of 1,563,241 shares traded.

The payment services company reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $18.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.03 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.American Express’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $323.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total value of $5,011,520.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,653,764.83. The trade was a 65.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in American Express by 5.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 680,308 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $183,037,000 after purchasing an additional 35,295 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its stake in American Express by 1.4% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 167,534 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $45,243,000 after buying an additional 2,259 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $509,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in American Express by 6.4% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,088,000 after buying an additional 5,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Navis Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 368.7% in the first quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $955,000 after buying an additional 2,791 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $325.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $302.09. The company has a market cap of $241.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.31, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.29.

American Express Company Profile

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.