CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:
We increase our 12-month target price by $20 to $290, applying a forward P/E of 19.5x our 2025 earnings estimate, a wider risk premium than the peer average of 8.1x given more consistent earnings performance, lower credit risk, and superior growth prospects. We raise our 2024 EPS estimate by $0.31 to $13.29 and increase 2025’s by $0.51 to $14.91. AXP reported Q1 EPS of $3.33 vs. $2.40 a year ago, a $0.35 earnings beat. It was another strong quarter for AXP as net write-offs of 2.1% were best in-class. Additionally, AXP’s product refreshments appear to be paying off as it acquired 3.4 million cards in the quarter vs. 2.9 million in Q4. Furthermore, after several straight quarters of decelerating growth, we were encouraged with discount revenue growth of 6%, up 1% from Q4. Importantly, AXP displayed expense discipline in the quarter with just 3% overall growth. We continue to believe AXP is positioned for long-term outperformance as 60% of its new customers are coming from younger cohorts.