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

Key Points

• Bread Financial has an average analyst rating of "Hold" from 15 research firms, with eight buys, six holds, and one sell. The average 1-year price target is about $107.92.
• The stock rose 1.0% to $96.49, and the company remains below its recent high of $109.91. It also trades at relatively modest valuation metrics, including a P/E of 7.90.
• Recent results were solid, with Bread Financial posting $4.18 EPS versus the expected $3.00 and revenue of $1.02 billion, which beat estimates. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, equal to a 1.0% annual yield.

Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the fifteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $107.9167.

Several research firms recently weighed in on BFH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays raised shares of Bread Financial from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $70.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bread Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th.

Bread Financial Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:BFH traded up $0.94 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $96.49. The stock had a trading volume of 486,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 712,207. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $94.45 and a 200 day moving average of $82.43. The company has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.90, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.10. Bread Financial has a one year low of $53.83 and a one year high of $109.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $1.18. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 18.79% and a net margin of 11.90%.The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $992.05 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.86 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bread Financial will post 10.98 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bread Financial

In related news, Director Roger H. Ballou sold 9,687 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.32, for a total transaction of $874,929.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 30,079 shares in the company, valued at $2,716,735.28. This represents a 24.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John J. Fawcett acquired 698 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $86.43 per share, for a total transaction of $60,328.14. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $950,730. This represents a 6.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bread Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in Bread Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Bread Financial by 141.2% in the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 562 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Bread Financial by 127.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Bread Financial by 58.7% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 614 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Bread Financial

Bread Financial, formerly known as Alliance Data Systems, is a Columbus, Ohio–based financial services company that specializes in providing private label credit programs, co-brand credit cards and digital payment solutions for retail partners. The company designs, issues and services proprietary credit products, enabling merchants to offer branded financing options that drive customer loyalty and increase basket sizes at the point of sale. Through its Bread technology platform, Bread Financial delivers installment-based payment options that integrate directly into e-commerce and in-store checkout experiences.

In addition to its core credit offerings, Bread Financial provides analytics, marketing and loyalty services to help merchants better understand consumer behavior and optimize promotional strategies.

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