Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Sets New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Bread Financial shares reached a new 52-week high of $115, last trading near $113.51, supported by strong momentum and a price well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $3.55, beating estimates of $2.74, while revenue rose 6.9% year over year to $993 million. Analysts’ consensus rating remains “Hold,” with an average price target of $110.58, although several firms recently raised targets or reiterated Buy/Outperform ratings.
• Bread Financial declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, equivalent to a $0.92 annualized payout and a 0.8% yield. Institutional investors own 99.52% of the stock, while recent insider activity included share sales by a director and the CEO.

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $115.00 and last traded at $113.5050, with a volume of 262 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $113.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on BFH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on Bread Financial from $120.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Seaport Research Partners restated a "buy" rating and issued a $119.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $110.58.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company's 50-day moving average price is $103.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.03. The company has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.79, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.11.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $3.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.81. The company had revenue of $993.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.32 million. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.95% and a return on equity of 18.42%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.15 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio is 7.18%.

Insider Transactions at Bread Financial

In related news, Director Praniti Lakhwara sold 2,802 shares of Bread Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.12, for a total value of $297,348.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $473,082.96. This trade represents a 38.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ralph J. Andretta sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.10, for a total value of $1,336,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 582,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,877,673.10. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. 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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bread Financial during the second quarter valued at about $421,314,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 0.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,086,060 shares of the company's stock worth $231,111,000 after purchasing an additional 9,854 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Bread Financial by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,029,894 shares of the company's stock valued at $150,273,000 after purchasing an additional 299,439 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,159,731 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,866,000 after buying an additional 14,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Bread Financial by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,147,366 shares of the company's stock worth $84,940,000 after buying an additional 203,707 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.52% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source