Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Buy"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Bread Financial from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating, indicating a shift in analyst sentiment towards the stock.
• Recent earnings results showed Bread Financial outperforming EPS estimates but falling short on revenue expectations, with quarterly revenue down 1.1% year-over-year.
• Major institutional investors have increased their stakes in Bread Financial significantly, with almost 99.52% of shares now held by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

BFH has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Monday, April 28th. BTIG Research set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $52.00 target price (up from $45.00) on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bread Financial has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $64.42.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

Bread Financial stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $60.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 51,675 shares, compared to its average volume of 837,945. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $57.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18. Bread Financial has a 12-month low of $38.21 and a 12-month high of $66.71. The company has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.22, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.42.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $3.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $1.29. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 13.10% and a net margin of 6.05%. The firm had revenue of $929.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $944.69 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Bread Financial will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John J. Fawcett purchased 1,027 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $61.79 per share, with a total value of $63,458.33. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 10,302 shares in the company, valued at approximately $636,560.58. This trade represents a 11.07% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bread Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Bread Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $104,000. Curat Global LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 81,068.5% during the 2nd quarter. Curat Global LLC now owns 450,485 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,732,000 after purchasing an additional 449,930 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,320,418 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,127,000 after purchasing an additional 409,877 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Bread Financial by 550.8% in the 4th 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. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Bread Financial by 104.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,604 shares of the company's stock worth $36,889,000 after purchasing an additional 376,920 shares during the last quarter. 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.