Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BFH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Bread Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $104.00 target price for the company. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.58.

Bread Financial Stock Down 0.1%

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $100.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.12. The stock has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $3.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.81. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.15 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 is Monday, August 31st. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bread Financial

In other news, CEO Ralph J. Andretta sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.10, for a total value of $1,336,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 582,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,877,673.10. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John J. Fawcett bought 698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $86.43 per share, for a total transaction of $60,328.14. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $950,730. This represents a 6.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bread Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 2.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Bread Financial by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 58.7% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Vista Investment Management boosted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vista Investment Management now owns 22,858 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,692,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Bread Financial by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in 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.