Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $72.74 and last traded at $72.11, with a volume of 72311 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $72.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BFH. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Bread Financial from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.00.

Bread Financial Stock Up 0.6%

The stock has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.52, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s fifty day moving average is $63.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.59.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $1.91. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 15.97% and a net margin of 10.08%.The business had revenue of $161.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $974.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This is an increase from Bread Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Bread Financial’s payout ratio is presently 9.37%.

Bread Financial announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 27th that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bread Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Bread Financial by 39.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 217,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,905,000 after purchasing an additional 61,047 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Bread Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,142,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 25.1% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,233,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,436,000 after purchasing an additional 247,437 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 278.0% in the second quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 15,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $879,000 after purchasing an additional 11,316 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in Bread Financial by 132.6% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 198,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,327,000 after purchasing an additional 113,053 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

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.