Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Sunday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on BFH. TD Cowen raised their price target on Bread Financial from $103.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Bread Financial from $120.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and set a $119.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $116.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.29.

Bread Financial Price Performance

BFH stock opened at $100.13 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.36. The stock has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of 7.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.10. Bread Financial has a one year low of $53.83 and a one year high of $114.53. 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 (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 12.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st were issued 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 0.9%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.18%.

Insider Transactions at Bread Financial

In related news, Director Praniti Lakhwara sold 2,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.12, for a total transaction 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bread Financial

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