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Here's Why American Express (AXP) Gained But Lagged the Market Today

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The most recent trading session ended with American Express (AXP - Free Report) standing at $255.15, reflecting a +0.38% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.75%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.58%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1%.

Shares of the credit card issuer and global payments company witnessed a gain of 4.27% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Finance sector with its gain of 4.06% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.03%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of American Express in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $3.25, showcasing a 1.52% downward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $16.65 billion, up 8.28% from the prior-year quarter.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $13.12 per share and a revenue of $65.99 billion, indicating changes of +17.04% and +9.04%, respectively, from the former year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for American Express. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 0.57% increase. American Express is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Looking at valuation, American Express is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 19.37. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 11.26.

Meanwhile, AXP's PEG ratio is currently 1.42. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Financial - Miscellaneous Services industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.05 as trading concluded yesterday.

The Financial - Miscellaneous Services industry is part of the Finance sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 67, putting it in the top 27% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


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