American Express (NYSE:AXP) – Investment analysts at Oppenheimer decreased their Q2 2019 earnings per share estimates for shares of American Express in a research note issued to investors on Monday, July 8th, according to Zacks Investment Research. Oppenheimer analyst D. Gabriele now anticipates that the payment services company will post earnings of $2.11 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.12. Oppenheimer has a “Buy” rating and a $119.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer also issued estimates for American Express’ Q3 2019 earnings at $2.14 EPS and FY2019 earnings at $8.16 EPS.
A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 price target on American Express and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank started coverage on American Express in a report on Monday, July 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $142.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on American Express to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Co upped their price target on American Express from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $124.38.
NYSE AXP traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $124.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,268,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,291,310. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.05. American Express has a 1-year low of $89.05 and a 1-year high of $129.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.50, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $125.41.
American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $10.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.82 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 29.75% and a net margin of 16.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS.
Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Comerica Securities Inc. lifted its stake in American Express by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Securities Inc. now owns 5,582 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $532,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in American Express by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 9,867 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $940,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Berman Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $87,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its stake in American Express by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 3,777 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rench Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in American Express by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. now owns 27,546 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,626,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.17% of the company’s stock.
In other news, CFO Jeffrey C. Campbell sold 7,045 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.91, for a total value of $879,990.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 59,620 shares in the company, valued at $7,447,134.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Stephen J. Squeri sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.69, for a total value of $1,720,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 214,815 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,637,132.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 190,548 shares of company stock valued at $22,910,322 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 3rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 21.28%.
American Express Company Profile
American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides charge and credit payment card products, and travel-related services to consumers and businesses worldwide. It operates through three segments: Global Consumer Services Group, Global Commercial Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.
