Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $112.29.

BFH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company started 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 target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on Bread Financial from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $116.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, July 6th.

Insider Activity at Bread Financial

In other news, Director Praniti Lakhwara sold 2,802 shares of Bread Financial 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 owned 4,458 shares in the company, valued at $473,082.96. The trade was a 38.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bread Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Bread Financial by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its holdings in Bread Financial by 238.9% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 25,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,760,000 after acquiring an additional 17,955 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Bread Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $128,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Bread Financial by 125.8% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 27.2% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bread Financial Trading Up 2.3%

NYSE:BFH opened at $101.46 on Friday. Bread Financial has a 52 week low of $53.83 and a 52 week high of $114.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $107.09 and its 200-day moving average is $94.76. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.10.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $3.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.32 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.15 earnings per share. Bread Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Bread Financial will post 12.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.18%.

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.