Equities Analysts Issue Forecasts for American Express’ Q3 2019 Earnings (AXP)

American Express (NYSE:AXP) – Investment analysts at KeyCorp increased their Q3 2019 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for American Express in a note issued to investors on Thursday, January 17th. KeyCorp analyst J. Beck now expects that the payment services company will post earnings per share of $2.19 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.16. KeyCorp also issued estimates for American Express’ Q4 2019 earnings at $1.85 EPS, Q1 2020 earnings at $2.26 EPS, Q2 2020 earnings at $2.30 EPS, Q3 2020 earnings at $2.44 EPS, Q4 2020 earnings at $1.99 EPS and FY2020 earnings at $9.00 EPS.

AXP has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 19th. Stephens set a $131.00 price objective on shares of American Express and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 20th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 19th. Bank of America downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $115.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “buy” rating and set a $114.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a report on Thursday, October 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.74.

AXP stock opened at $100.48 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $85.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.14. American Express has a 52 week low of $87.54 and a 52 week high of $114.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 17th. The payment services company reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $10.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.54 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 30.95% and a net margin of 17.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.58 EPS.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 4th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.28%.

In other American Express news, Chairman Stephen J. Squeri sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.84, for a total value of $1,298,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 209,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,801,934.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vigilant Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 187.7% in the fourth quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 446 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. IMS Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Ironwood Financial llc raised its position in shares of American Express by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Ironwood Financial llc now owns 731 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $106,000. 82.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About American Express

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 four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, International Consumer and Network Services, Global Commercial Services, and Global Merchant Services.