American Express (NYSE:AXP) Updates FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

American Express (NYSE:AXP) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 12.650-13.150 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 12.080. The company issued revenue guidance of $66.0 billion-$67.2 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $62.4 billion. American Express also updated its FY24 guidance to $12.65-$13.15 EPS.

American Express Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $218.21 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $219.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $187.79. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $231.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The stock has a market cap of $157.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.32. American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. American Express’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.18%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a buy rating and a $235.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of American Express from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of American Express from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $201.62.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Burford Brothers Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $487,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in shares of American Express by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 74,400 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $13,936,000 after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 121.7% in the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,924 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 5,997 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,930,000. Finally, DRW Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 2,635 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. 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.