Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Bank of America set a $92.00 price objective on Bread Financial and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $98.00 price objective on Bread Financial in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Bread Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Bread Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.25.

Bread Financial Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE BFH opened at $89.07 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $82.85 and a 200-day moving average of $75.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.12. Bread Financial has a 52 week low of $49.17 and a 52 week high of $99.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $1.18. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $992.05 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 18.79% and a net margin of 11.90%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.86 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bread Financial will post 10.59 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Bread Financial news, Director Roger H. Ballou sold 9,687 shares of Bread Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.32, for a total transaction of $874,929.84. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 30,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,716,735.28. The trade was a 24.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John J. Fawcett bought 698 shares of Bread Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $86.43 per share, for a total transaction of $60,328.14. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $950,730. This represents a 6.78% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Bread Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in Bread Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Bread Financial by 141.2% during the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Bread Financial by 127.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Bread Financial by 8,300.0% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 840 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.