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

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on BFH. UBS Group upped their price target on Bread Financial from $120.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $103.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and issued a $119.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Friday, September 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.29.

Bread Financial Stock Up 0.1%

Bread Financial stock opened at $108.34 on Friday. Bread Financial has a 1-year low of $53.83 and a 1-year high of $114.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.79.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $3.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.81. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.95% and a return on equity of 18.42%. The business had revenue of $993.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $959.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Bread Financial will post 12.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Praniti Lakhwara sold 2,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.12, for a total value of $297,348.24. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,458 shares in the company, valued at $473,082.96. This trade represents a 38.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Bread Financial by 5,814.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 17,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 17,269 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 630,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,198,000 after purchasing an additional 96,771 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bread Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $421,314,000. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bread Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $9,903,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Bread Financial by 23.6% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 54,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,057,000 after buying an additional 10,347 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

About Bread Financial

Bread Financial Corporation (NYSE: BFH) is a financial services company that provides payment, lending and savings solutions for consumers and businesses. Its offerings include private-label and co-branded credit cards, installment loans, buy now, pay later financing and direct-to-consumer savings products.

The company works with retailers and brands to design and manage customized credit programs, including account servicing, underwriting, transaction processing and customer engagement services.