Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $111.94 and last traded at $110.8710, with a volume of 538373 shares. The stock had previously closed at $108.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on BFH. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Bread Financial from $120.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen raised their target price on Bread Financial from $103.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $116.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, July 6th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Bread Financial from $105.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $119.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.58.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $100.00 and a 200 day moving average of $85.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $3.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.81. The firm had revenue of $992.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.32 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 18.42% and a net margin of 11.95%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.15 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Bread Financial’s payout ratio is currently 7.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John J. Fawcett acquired 698 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $86.43 per share, for a total transaction of $60,328.14. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $950,730. The trade was a 6.78% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Praniti Lakhwara sold 2,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.12, for a total transaction of $297,348.24. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,458 shares in the company, valued at $473,082.96. This trade represents a 38.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bread Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BFH. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Bread Financial by 5,814.5% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 17,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 17,269 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Bread Financial by 100.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 716,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,059,000 after buying an additional 359,088 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Bread Financial by 38,301.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 215,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,977,000 after buying an additional 215,253 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Bread Financial by 240.1% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 156,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,600,000 after buying an additional 110,616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bread Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $2,824,000. Institutional investors own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

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.