Zacks Research Downgrades Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) to Hold

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Bread Financial (NYSE: BFH) from strong-buy to hold, making it the headline change in the report.
• Despite the downgrade, other analysts remain relatively constructive: several firms recently raised or reaffirmed positive ratings, and MarketBeat shows a consensus Hold with a target price of $107.92.
• Bread Financial has been trading near its 52-week high, and its latest earnings beat expectations with $4.18 EPS versus a $3.00 estimate, on revenue of $1.02 billion.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on BFH. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Bread Financial from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wolfe Research reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bread Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bread Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.92.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

BFH stock opened at $102.57 on Monday. Bread Financial has a one year low of $53.83 and a one year high of $109.91. The firm has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.40, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.09.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $1.18. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.90% and a return on equity of 18.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $992.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.86 EPS. Bread Financial's revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Bread Financial will post 10.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John J. Fawcett bought 698 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $86.43 per share, for a total transaction of $60,328.14. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 11,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $950,730. This represents a 6.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Roger H. Ballou sold 9,687 shares of Bread Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.32, for a total value of $874,929.84. Following the transaction, the director owned 30,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,716,735.28. This represents a 24.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bread Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 223.4% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 665,812 shares of the company's stock worth $49,290,000 after purchasing an additional 459,916 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 241.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 537,656 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,711,000 after acquiring an additional 380,039 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 104.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,604 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,889,000 after purchasing an additional 376,920 shares during the period. UBS Group AG increased its position in Bread Financial by 100.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 716,725 shares of the company's stock worth $53,059,000 after purchasing an additional 359,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Bread Financial by 899.4% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 350,061 shares of the company's stock worth $26,216,000 after purchasing an additional 315,034 shares during the period. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bread Financial News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Bread Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target on Bread Financial to $120 from $94 and kept a buy rating, implying meaningful upside versus the current share price. Benzinga article
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays upgraded Bread Financial from underweight to equal weight and lifted its target to $104 from $70, signaling a more constructive view on the stock. Benzinga article
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs increased its price target to $108 from $94 while maintaining a neutral rating, adding to the broader trend of higher valuation expectations for BFH. Benzinga article
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen also raised its target to $103 from $95 but kept a hold rating, which suggests limited near-term upside from its perspective. Benzinga article
• Neutral Sentiment: Bread Financial scheduled its second-quarter 2026 earnings conference call for July 23, keeping investors focused on upcoming results and management commentary. GlobeNewswire article
• Neutral Sentiment: A Zacks piece noted BFH has been outperforming its industry and trading near a 52-week high, with commentary pointing to solid credit sales and proactive risk management. Zacks article

About Bread Financial

Bread Financial, formerly known as Alliance Data Systems, is a Columbus, Ohio–based financial services company that specializes in providing private label credit programs, co-brand credit cards and digital payment solutions for retail partners. The company designs, issues and services proprietary credit products, enabling merchants to offer branded financing options that drive customer loyalty and increase basket sizes at the point of sale. Through its Bread technology platform, Bread Financial delivers installment-based payment options that integrate directly into e-commerce and in-store checkout experiences.

In addition to its core credit offerings, Bread Financial provides analytics, marketing and loyalty services to help merchants better understand consumer behavior and optimize promotional strategies.

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