Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Raised to Outperform at Evercore

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) was upgraded by analysts at Evercore from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore’s target price indicates a potential upside of 13.36% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on BFH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bread Financial from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.09.

Bread Financial Trading Up 2.9%

Bread Financial stock opened at $79.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.17. Bread Financial has a fifty-two week low of $38.21 and a fifty-two week high of $82.03. The stock has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.32, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $74.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.03.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $1.67. The company had revenue of $975.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $954.74 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 17.92% and a net margin of 11.02%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Bread Financial will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 reacquire up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Bread Financial

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 29,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after buying an additional 1,286 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted 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 valued at $17,323,000 after acquiring an additional 109,864 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Bread Financial by 104.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,889,000 after acquiring an additional 376,920 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Bread Financial by 3.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 4,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Bread Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,000. 99.52% of the stock is owned by 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.