BTIG Research Upgrades Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) to Buy

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

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $68.00 to $58.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. 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 issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bread Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.92.

Bread Financial Price Performance

NYSE:BFH traded down $1.25 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $61.06. 220,395 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 866,912. The business's 50-day moving average price is $54.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.27. The company has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a PE ratio of 10.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.38. Bread Financial has a 12-month low of $38.21 and a 12-month high of $66.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.76. Bread Financial had a net margin of 5.89% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The company had revenue of $970.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $956.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.73 earnings per share. Bread Financial's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Bread Financial will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Bread Financial's payout ratio is 14.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in Bread Financial by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Bread Financial by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,202 shares of the company's stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Bread Financial by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 40,918 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,049,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Bread Financial by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 30,641 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,871,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Bread Financial by 28.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,457 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. 99.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.