American Express (NYSE:AXP) Issues FY24 Earnings Guidance

American Express (NYSE:AXP) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $12.65-$13.15 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $12.84. The company issued revenue guidance of $65.79-$67.0 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $66.24 billion. American Express also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 12.650-13.150 EPS.

American Express Trading Down 0.1 %

AXP stock opened at $217.51 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $219.68 and its 200 day moving average is $187.79. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $231.69. The stock has a market cap of $157.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AXP. Evercore ISI upped their price target on American Express from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Stephens raised American Express from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and raised their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of American Express from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and upped their price objective for the company from $212.00 to $222.00 in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $221.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $201.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were 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 $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Express

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth approximately $124,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $120,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth $115,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter worth $104,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at about $99,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.