American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) - Analysts at DA Davidson raised their Q3 2017 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for American Express in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday. DA Davidson analyst A. Cyganovich now forecasts that the payment services company will post earnings per share of $1.47 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.43. DA Davidson has a “Neutral” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson also issued estimates for American Express’ Q4 2017 earnings at $1.49 EPS, FY2017 earnings at $5.75 EPS, Q2 2018 earnings at $1.61 EPS, Q3 2018 earnings at $1.68 EPS and Q4 2018 earnings at $1.57 EPS.
American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $8.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.20 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 21.94% and a net margin of 14.11%. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 EPS.
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AXP has been the subject of a number of other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “buy” rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 10th. Piper Jaffray Companies restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $83.00 target price (up from $82.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Saturday, April 22nd. Instinet restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. Barclays PLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “hold” rating and issued a $84.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Thursday, June 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.77.
American Express (AXP) traded up 0.12% during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $85.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 193,936 shares. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $83.01 and its 200-day moving average is $79.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.68 billion, a PE ratio of 17.54 and a beta of 1.18. American Express has a 12 month low of $59.50 and a 12 month high of $85.98.
Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Express by 0.3% in the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,286 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA raised its stake in American Express by 0.3% in the second quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 2,658 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Genovese Burford & Brothers Wealth & Retirement Plan Management LLC raised its stake in American Express by 0.4% in the first quarter. Genovese Burford & Brothers Wealth & Retirement Plan Management LLC now owns 2,641 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co raised its stake in American Express by 0.3% in the second quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 4,388 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. raised its stake in American Express by 0.5% in the first quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 3,174 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 82.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
In related news, insider Douglas E. Buckminster sold 3,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Friday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.24, for a total value of $237,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 55,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,396,710.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth I. Chenault sold 789,503 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Monday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total transaction of $66,807,743.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 889,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,297,922.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 803,384 shares of company stock valued at $67,936,314. 0.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
American Express announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 28th that allows the company to repurchase $4.40 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the payment services company to reacquire up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 10th. Investors of record on Friday, July 7th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 5th. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 26.18%.
American Express Company Profile
American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, is a global services company. The Company’s principal products and services are charge and credit card products, and travel-related services, which are offered to consumers and businesses around the world. Its segments include the U.S. Consumer Services (USCS), International Consumer and Network Services (ICNS), Global Commercial Services (GCS) and Global Merchant Services (GMS).
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