Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Bread Financial from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Bread Financial from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Thursday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Bread Financial from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bread Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.18.

Bread Financial Price Performance

Shares of BFH opened at $76.70 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $66.82 and its 200 day moving average is $62.23. Bread Financial has a 12-month low of $38.21 and a 12-month high of $78.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.28.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $974.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. Bread Financial’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bread Financial will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, August 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Bread Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BFH. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Bread Financial by 141.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Bread Financial by 947.5% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 639 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Bread Financial by 127.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Bread Financial during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Bread Financial by 8,300.0% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 840 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bread Financial Company Profile

Bread Financial, formerly known as Alliance Data Systems, is a Columbus, Ohio–based financial services company that specializes in providing private label credit programs, co-brand credit cards and digital payment solutions for retail partners. The company designs, issues and services proprietary credit products, enabling merchants to offer branded financing options that drive customer loyalty and increase basket sizes at the point of sale. Through its Bread technology platform, Bread Financial delivers installment-based payment options that integrate directly into e-commerce and in-store checkout experiences.

In addition to its core credit offerings, Bread Financial provides analytics, marketing and loyalty services to help merchants better understand consumer behavior and optimize promotional strategies.