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

Key Points

• Bread Financial reached a new 52-week high of $66.81 during trading, closing at $66.54 with a significant trading volume of 86,049 shares.
• Analysts have mixed outlooks for the stock, with price targets ranging from a low of $39.00 by Morgan Stanley to a high of $105.00 by BTIG Research, resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold."
• The company reported a quarterly net earnings of $3.14 per share, exceeding estimates, but with a year-over-year revenue decrease of 1.1% to $929.00 million.

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $66.81 and last traded at $66.54, with a volume of 86049 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BFH shares. BTIG Research set a $105.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Bread Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $52.00 price objective (up from $45.00) on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.91.

Bread Financial Trading Up 2.5%

The company's 50 day moving average price is $60.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.42.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $3.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $1.29. Bread Financial had a net margin of 6.05% and a return on equity of 13.10%. The firm had revenue of $929.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $944.69 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. Bread Financial's revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Bread Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.21%.

Bread Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bread Financial

In related news, Director John J. Fawcett purchased 1,027 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $61.79 per share, for a total transaction of $63,458.33. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bread Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Bread Financial by 16.9% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,720,613 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,281,000 after acquiring an additional 248,401 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bread Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $104,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 2.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,490,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,151,000 after purchasing an additional 28,901 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 45.0% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,320,418 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,127,000 after purchasing an additional 409,877 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,241,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,810,000 after purchasing an additional 120,237 shares during the period. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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