American Express (NYSE:AXP) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.17 EPS

American Express (NYSE:AXP) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17, RTT News reports. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. American Express updated its FY 2025 guidance to 15.000-15.500 EPS.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $250.04 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $275.21 and its 200-day moving average is $287.85. The firm has a market cap of $175.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a 1-year low of $216.52 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in American Express stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 24.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. HSBC upped their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $343.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Compass Point lowered their price objective on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.81.

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.