Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Bread Financial shares reached a new 52-week high of $110.14, supported by strong quarterly results. The company reported EPS of $3.55 versus the $2.74 consensus estimate and revenue of $992 million, up 6.9% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the consensus rating remains “Hold” with an average price target of $110, although UBS raised its target to $120 and Seaport Research Partners maintained a $119 buy target.
• Bread Financial declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, equivalent to $0.92 annually and a 0.9% yield. Institutional investors own 99.52% of the company, while insider ownership stands at 1.30%.

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $110.14 and last traded at $108.03, with a volume of 402946 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $107.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BFH shares. Barclays raised their price target on Bread Financial from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Bread Financial from $94.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $119.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Bread Financial from $94.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $110.00.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.10.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $3.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.81. The company had revenue of $992.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.32 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 18.42% and a net margin of 11.95%.Bread Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.15 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 11.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Bread Financial's payout ratio is currently 7.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bread Financial news, Director John J. Fawcett acquired 698 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $86.43 per share, for a total transaction of $60,328.14. Following the purchase, the director owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $950,730. This represents a 6.78% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ralph J. Andretta sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.10, for a total transaction of $1,336,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 582,241 shares of the company's stock, valued at $51,877,673.10. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Bread Financial by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,842 shares of the company's stock worth $416,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 58.7% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 614 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Vista Investment Management increased its position in shares of Bread Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vista Investment Management now owns 22,858 shares of the company's stock worth $1,692,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Bread Financial by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,206 shares of the company's stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.52% of the company's stock.

Bread Financial Company Profile

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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