Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Monday,Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $116.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on Bread Financial from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Bread Financial from $120.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Bread Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Bread Financial from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, five have assigned 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.08.

Bread Financial Price Performance

BFH stock opened at $102.04 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Bread Financial has a one year low of $53.83 and a one year high of $114.53. The stock has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a PE ratio of 7.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.74.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $3.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.81. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.95% and a return on equity of 18.42%. The firm had revenue of $993.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $959.32 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.15 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Bread Financial will post 12.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bread Financial news, Director Praniti Lakhwara sold 2,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.12, for a total value of $297,348.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,082.96. The trade was a 38.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in Bread Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in Bread Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bread Financial by 127.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Bread Financial by 58.7% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bread Financial Company Profile

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.