Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $78.57 and last traded at $78.43, with a volume of 8073 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BFH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Bread Financial from $88.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Bread Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Friday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.18.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.86. The company has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $1.91. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 15.97% and a net margin of 10.08%.The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $974.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Bread Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. Bread Financial’s payout ratio is 9.37%.

Bread Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, August 27th that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bread Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of Bread Financial by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 7,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Bread Financial by 1.4% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $810,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its stake in Bread Financial by 1.7% during the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 11,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in Bread Financial by 0.9% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 25,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.