Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $93.3636.

A number of analysts have issued reports on BFH shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Bread Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Bank of America set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Thursday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $92.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

Shares of BFH stock opened at $85.36 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.99, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.69. Bread Financial has a 52 week low of $47.87 and a 52 week high of $99.13.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $1.18. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $992.05 million. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.90% and a return on equity of 18.79%. Bread Financial’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bread Financial will post 10.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Bread Financial’s payout ratio is presently 7.53%.

Bread Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Bread Financial

In other news, Director Roger H. Ballou sold 9,687 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 30,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,716,735.28. The trade was a 24.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bread Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Bread Financial by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 29,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Bread Financial by 46.5% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 345,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,323,000 after purchasing an additional 109,864 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Bread Financial by 104.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,889,000 after purchasing an additional 376,920 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Bread Financial by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 157,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,904,000 after purchasing an additional 4,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Bread Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,000. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.