Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Upgraded to "Buy" at BTIG Research

BTIG Research upgraded shares of Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $105.00 price target on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Bread Financial from $68.00 to $58.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $52.00 price target (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Bread Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Bread Financial from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $63.92.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BFH traded down $1.93 during trading on Monday, hitting $60.06. 522,804 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 659,762. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $53.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.17. Bread Financial has a 52-week low of $38.21 and a 52-week high of $66.71. The company has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.38.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.76. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 5.89%. The company 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 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bread Financial will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atria Investments Inc purchased a new stake in Bread Financial during the fourth quarter worth $308,000. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 88.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 33,820 shares of the company's stock worth $2,005,000 after buying an additional 15,883 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Bread Financial by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $797,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bread Financial by 45.4% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,308 shares of the company's stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 2,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its position in Bread Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 97,723 shares of the company's stock worth $5,967,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bread Financial Company Profile

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.