American Express' Q1 Wins Keep Analysts Steady In Their Views

American Express Company AXP reported its first-quarter results, with 6% year-on-year card member spending growth.

The results came amid an exciting earnings season. Here are some key analyst takeaways from the release.

BMO Capital Markets On American Express

Analyst James Fotheringham reiterated an Underperform rating, while raising the price target from $167 to $175.

American Express delivered a "broad-based beat" in the first quarter, with earnings of $3.08 per share topping consensus of $2.96 per share, Fotheringham said in a note. He added that lower-than-expected non-interest income "was more than offset by higher NII (+4% beat on faster loan growth), lower costs, and lower provisions."

Management reiterated their full-year guidance, despite the first-quarter beat, which implies, a "3% downside to rest-of-year EPS at the mid-point (all else equal)," the analyst stated.

Barclays On American Express

Analyst Terry Ma maintained an Equal Weight rating and price target of $221.

The first-quarter results were consistent with the company's full-year guidance, "though revenue growth is closer to the higher end," Ma wrote in a note.

"Revenues beat primarily from higher NII, while revenue growth was above (~1pp) our estimate," he added.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods On American Express

Analyst Sanjay Sakhrani reaffirmed an Outperform rating and price target of $265.

The company's quarterly results were "largely characterized by stable volume and credit quality trends across segments, which we feel is tracking in-line with our full year estimates and management's guidance," Sakhrani said.

"A one-time $196 million benefit to Card Member Rewards expense (driven by enhancements to the company's membership reward redemption models) was the biggest driver of upside in the quarter," the analyst wrote. He added that a significant portion of the funds was reinvested in marketing.

Morgan Stanley On American Express

Analyst Jeffrey Adelson reiterated an Equal Weight rating and price target of $222.

American Express' earnings beat was driven by lower-than-expected variable card engagement expenses, "primarily on lower rewards expense & business development costs," Adelson said.

Revenues were ahead of expectations by a small margin, driven by higher net interest income, while fee income came in lower, he added. Discount revenues and average billings per proprietary card accelerated slightly in the quarter, and consumer billings re-accelerated, the analyst further stated.

AXP Price Action: Shares of American Express were down 0.33% to $230.28 at the time of publication on Monday.

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