Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Stock Price Down 8.9% – Should You Sell?

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)’s stock price was down 8.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $71.33 and last traded at $72.2190. Approximately 167,502 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 943,014 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.27.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BFH shares. Zacks Research cut Bread Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $92.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore upgraded Bread Financial from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.09.

Bread Financial Trading Down 10.6%

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 6.54, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

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

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.49%.

Bread Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BFH. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 7,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Bread Financial by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $810,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in Bread Financial by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 11,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Bread Financial by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 25,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.