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

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

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $253.30 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.08, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The business has a fifty day moving average of $275.21 and a 200 day moving average of $287.85. American Express has a one year low of $216.52 and a one year high of $326.28.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point decreased their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

An institutional investor recently raised its position in American Express stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 24.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.