Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Hold" by the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $60.27.

BFH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $68.00 to $58.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Bread Financial Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE BFH traded up $1.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $52.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 667,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 876,081. Bread Financial has a 12-month low of $38.21 and a 12-month high of $66.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.37. The business's 50 day moving average is $49.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.13.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.76. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 12.41% and a net margin of 5.75%. The business had revenue of $970.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $956.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.73 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bread Financial will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bread Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 2.5% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Bread Financial by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,202 shares of the company's stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Bread Financial by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,872 shares of the company's stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in Bread Financial by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 5,329 shares of the company's stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Bread Financial

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.