Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $60.44 and last traded at $60.17, with a volume of 18891 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.76.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on BFH. TD Cowen raised their price target on Bread Financial from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Bread Financial from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Bread Financial from $40.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Bread Financial from $47.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Bread Financial from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.64.

Bread Financial Stock Up 18.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.15. The company has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 1.94.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $983.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $981.26 million. Bread Financial had a net margin of 6.37% and a return on equity of 13.33%. Bread Financial’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 7.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John J. Fawcett purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $51.02 per share, with a total value of $51,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $330,252.46. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bread Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Bread Financial by 33.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 6.2% during the third quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 2.1% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 30.0% during the second quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 1,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 2.0% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 24,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,110,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 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.