Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Sets New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after BTIG Research raised their price target on the stock from $105.00 to $132.00. BTIG Research currently has a buy rating on the stock. Bread Financial traded as high as $109.12 and last traded at $108.9990, with a volume of 877879 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $106.27.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Bread Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bread Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wolfe Research reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bread Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.67.

Insider Transactions at Bread Financial

In other news, Director Roger H. Ballou sold 9,687 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.32, for a total value of $874,929.84. Following the sale, the director owned 30,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,716,735.28. The trade was a 24.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John J. Fawcett purchased 698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $86.43 per share, for a total transaction of $60,328.14. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $950,730. This represents a 6.78% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bread Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 29,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bread Financial by 46.5% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 345,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,323,000 after purchasing an additional 109,864 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Bread Financial by 104.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,889,000 after purchasing an additional 376,920 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Bread Financial by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 157,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,904,000 after purchasing an additional 4,624 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Bread Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Bread Financial Stock Down 2.6%

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.32. The firm has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a PE ratio of 8.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $1.18. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.90% and a return on equity of 18.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $992.05 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.53%.

About Bread Financial

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.