JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reaffirms Underweight Rating for Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH)

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH)‘s stock had its “underweight” rating reaffirmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $72.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price suggests a potential downside of 0.30% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Friday, October 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Bread Financial from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research upgraded Bread Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Bread Financial from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Bread Financial from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bread Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.00.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Bread Financial stock opened at $72.21 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a PE ratio of 7.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Bread Financial has a 52 week low of $38.21 and a 52 week high of $72.71. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.07.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $1.91. The firm had revenue of $161.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $974.30 million. Bread Financial had a net margin of 10.08% and a return on equity of 15.97%. Bread Financial’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Bread Financial will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bread Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Bread Financial by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,273,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,120,000 after acquiring an additional 30,962 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,076,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,557,000 after purchasing an additional 16,143 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 16.9% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,720,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,281,000 after purchasing an additional 248,401 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 4.4% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,555,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,776,000 after purchasing an additional 65,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Bread Financial by 45.0% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,320,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,127,000 after purchasing an additional 409,877 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

About Bread Financial

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc provides tech-forward payment and lending solutions to customers and consumer-based industries in North America. It offers credit card and other loans financing services, including risk management solutions, account origination, and funding services for private label and co-brand credit card programs, as well as through Bread partnerships; and Comenity-branded general purpose cash-back credit.