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

American Express (NYSE:AXP) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.33 EPS. American Express updated its FY 2025 guidance to 15.000-15.500 EPS.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $251.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. American Express has a 12-month low of $217.18 and a 12-month high of $326.28. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $274.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC boosted their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $244.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $294.90.

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.