Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $57.08.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Bread Financial from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Bread Financial from $68.00 to $58.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley cut Bread Financial from an "overweight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $33.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Compass Point upped their price objective on Bread Financial from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Bread Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BFH traded up $2.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $48.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 508,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 875,214. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $50.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.58. Bread Financial has a 12-month low of $33.58 and a 12-month high of $66.71.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. Bread Financial had a net margin of 5.75% and a return on equity of 12.41%. On average, analysts forecast that Bread Financial will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.14%.

Bread Financial declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 5th that allows the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bread Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Bread Financial by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Bread Financial by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,202 shares of the company's stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,872 shares of the company's stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 5,329 shares of the company's stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 30,641 shares of the company's stock worth $1,871,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.52% of the company's stock.

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.