Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Stock Price

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $36.00 to $39.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "underweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would suggest a potential downside of 28.17% from the company's previous close.

BFH has been the topic of a number of other reports. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Compass Point lifted their target price on Bread Financial from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $68.00 to $58.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.27.

Bread Financial Stock Up 7.6%

Shares of BFH traded up $3.83 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $54.30. 427,767 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 877,755. Bread Financial has a 52 week low of $38.21 and a 52 week high of $66.71. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.62. The company has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.79, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.33.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.76. The firm had revenue of $970.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $956.17 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 12.41% and a net margin of 5.75%. The business's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.73 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Bread Financial will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bread Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bread Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $104,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 550.8% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 462,307 shares of the company's stock worth $28,228,000 after purchasing an additional 391,272 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bread Financial in the fourth quarter worth $23,740,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,207,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,724,000 after buying an additional 286,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Bread Financial by 5,654.9% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 256,151 shares of the company's stock worth $15,641,000 after buying an additional 251,700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.52% of the company's stock.

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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