Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Price Target Raised to $39.00 at Morgan Stanley

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $36.00 to $39.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "underweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price target indicates a potential downside of 27.82% from the company's previous close.

BFH has been the subject of several other research reports. 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 note on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on Bread Financial from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Compass Point upped their price objective on Bread Financial from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Bread Financial from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.27.

Bread Financial Price Performance

NYSE BFH traded down $0.30 during trading on Monday, hitting $54.03. 673,118 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 875,234. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a PE ratio of 9.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.33. Bread Financial has a fifty-two week low of $38.21 and a fifty-two week high of $66.71. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $48.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.74.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.76. The firm had revenue of $970.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $956.17 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 12.41% and a net margin of 5.75%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.73 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Bread Financial will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bread Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 2,083.3% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 524 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Curat Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Bread Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 947.5% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 639 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Bread Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 182.8% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,298 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.