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

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Bread Financial from “strong buy” to “hold,” contributing to an overall analyst consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.29.
• Bread Financial shares opened at $97.51, down 0.3%, while the company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations with $3.55 in earnings per share and $993 million in revenue.
• Institutional investors own 99.52% of the company, while a director recently sold 2,802 shares worth approximately $297,348.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on BFH. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bread Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 27th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Bread Financial from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $120.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Evercore set a $118.00 target price on Bread Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bread Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.29.

Bread Financial Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Bread Financial stock opened at $97.51 on Tuesday. The stock 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 P/E ratio of 7.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Bread Financial has a 1 year low of $53.83 and a 1 year high of $114.53.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $3.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.81. The company had revenue of $993.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $959.32 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 18.42% and a net margin of 11.95%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.15 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Bread Financial will post 12.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Praniti Lakhwara sold 2,802 shares of the business'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 transaction of $297,348.24. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,082.96. The trade was a 38.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BFH. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Bread Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. 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 worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted 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 in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Bread Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, Group One Trading LLC bought a new stake in Bread Financial in the second quarter valued at about $102,000. 99.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bread Financial Company Profile

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.

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