Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on BFH. UBS Group upped their price objective on Bread Financial from $120.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $107.00 price target on Bread Financial in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bread Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.29.

Bread Financial Price Performance

Bread Financial stock opened at $97.51 on Tuesday. Bread Financial has a 1 year low of $53.83 and a 1 year high of $114.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $106.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.47. The company has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.61, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.15.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $3.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.81. The company had revenue of $993.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.32 million. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.95% and a return on equity of 18.42%. Bread Financial’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Bread Financial will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bread Financial news, Director Praniti Lakhwara sold 2,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.12, for a total value of $297,348.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,458 shares in the company, valued at $473,082.96. This represents a 38.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bread Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Bread Financial by 2.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $416,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 27.2% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 58.7% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 16,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,241,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 125.8% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

About Bread Financial

Bread Financial Corporation (NYSE: BFH) is a financial services company that provides payment, lending and savings solutions to consumers and businesses. The company works with merchants and brands to offer private-label and co-branded credit cards, installment loans, buy now, pay later services and other financing options at the point of sale.

Its consumer products and services include Bread Pay payment solutions, credit card programs issued through its banking subsidiaries, and Bread Savings deposit products.