Barclays Boosts Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Price Target to $52.00

Key Points

• Barclays has raised its price target for Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) from $50.00 to $52.00, maintaining an "underweight" rating, which suggests a potential downside of 21.03% from the previous closing price.
• Despite the increase in Barclays' target, other analysts have varied outlooks; for instance, BTIG Research has set a target of $105.00 with a "buy" rating, contrasting with other firms that have lowered their targets significantly.
• Bread Financial recently reported earnings that exceeded analyst estimates, with an EPS of $4.02, although its revenue saw a 1.2% decline year-over-year, raising concerns about future growth.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by investment analysts at Barclays from $50.00 to $52.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "underweight" rating on the stock. Barclays's price target would indicate a potential downside of 21.03% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on BFH. BTIG Research set a $105.00 price objective on Bread Financial and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Bread Financial from $88.00 to $71.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Bread Financial from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Bread Financial from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.73.

Bread Financial Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE BFH traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $65.85. 37,886 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 794,445. Bread Financial has a 52-week low of $38.21 and a 52-week high of $68.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 11.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18. The business's fifty day moving average price is $61.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.49.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by $1.91. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 13.10% and a net margin of 6.05%.The business had revenue of $971.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $974.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Bread Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts forecast that Bread Financial will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 27th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Bread Financial

In related news, Director John J. Fawcett purchased 1,027 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $61.79 per share, for a total transaction of $63,458.33. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 10,302 shares in the company, valued at approximately $636,560.58. The trade was a 11.07% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bread Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BFH. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Bread Financial by 2.6% during the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 7,460 shares of the company's stock valued at $426,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in Bread Financial by 1.7% in the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 11,951 shares of the company's stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Bread Financial by 2.5% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,085 shares of the company's stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Bread Financial by 0.7% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 40,918 shares of the company's stock worth $2,049,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Bread Financial by 28.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,457 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bread Financial Company Profile

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc provides tech-forward payment and lending solutions to customers and consumer-based industries in North America. It offers credit card and other loans financing services, including risk management solutions, account origination, and funding services for private label and co-brand credit card programs, as well as through Bread partnerships; and Comenity-branded general purpose cash-back credit.

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