Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $80.36, but opened at $72.08. Bread Financial shares last traded at $71.1810, with a volume of 424,273 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BFH has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Bread Financial from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $72.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Zacks Research cut shares of Bread Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Bread Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.08.

Bread Financial Trading Down 1.1%

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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.03, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.64.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $1.91. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.30 million. Bread Financial had a net margin of 10.08% and a return on equity of 15.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This is an increase from Bread Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 9.37%.

Bread Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, October 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. 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 buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Bread Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 8,300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in Bread Financial by 1,509.1% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 885 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

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.