Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $75.84 and last traded at $75.4650, with a volume of 160684 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $74.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $88.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Bread Financial from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bread Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.18.

Bread Financial Stock Up 1.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $64.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.13. The company has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.27.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $1.91. Bread Financial had a net margin of 10.08% and a return on equity of 15.97%. The firm had revenue of $161.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $974.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Bread Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.37%.

Bread Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bread Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 39.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 217,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,905,000 after buying an additional 61,047 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new stake in Bread Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,142,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Bread Financial by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,233,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,436,000 after acquiring an additional 247,437 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bread Financial in the second quarter valued at about $1,713,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 132.6% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 198,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,327,000 after acquiring an additional 113,053 shares during the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bread Financial Company Profile

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc provides tech-forward payment and lending solutions to customers and consumer-based industries in North America. It offers credit card and other loans financing services, including risk management solutions, account origination, and funding services for private label and co-brand credit card programs, as well as through Bread partnerships; and Comenity-branded general purpose cash-back credit.