American Express (AXP) closed at $295.49 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.82% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 1.76% loss on the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 1.48%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 2.64%.

The credit card issuer and global payments company's stock has dropped by 5.19% in the past month, falling short of the Finance sector's gain of 0.83% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.26%.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of American Express in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is expected to report EPS of $3.48, up 4.5% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $17.05 billion, up 7.92% from the prior-year quarter.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $15.32 per share and a revenue of $71.66 billion, indicating changes of +14.76% and +8.65%, respectively, from the former year.

Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for American Express. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. 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, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained unchanged. American Express currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

From a valuation perspective, American Express is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 19.64. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 9.84 for its industry.

Meanwhile, AXP's PEG ratio is currently 1.44. 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. AXP's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.05 as of yesterday's close.

The Financial - Miscellaneous Services industry is part of the Finance sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 36, which puts it in the top 15% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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