Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Upgraded to Outperform at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $90.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $92.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Bread Financial from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.09.

Bread Financial Price Performance

Bread Financial stock opened at $77.12 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a PE ratio of 7.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.26. Bread Financial has a one year low of $38.21 and a one year high of $82.03.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $1.67. The firm had revenue of $975.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $954.74 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 17.92% and a net margin of 11.02%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bread Financial will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.49%.

Bread Financial announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, October 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bread Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 109,864 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 376,920 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 3.0% during the first 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 buying an additional 4,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Bread Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Institutional investors own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Bread Financial Company Profile

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.