Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $111.94 and last traded at $110.8710, with a volume of 538373 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $108.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BFH shares. Zacks Research downgraded Bread Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Bread Financial from $120.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $105.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bread Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.58.

Bread Financial Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.11.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $3.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.81. The company had revenue of $992.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.32 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 18.42% and a net margin of 11.95%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.15 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Bread Financial’s payout ratio is 7.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bread Financial

In other Bread Financial news, Director Praniti Lakhwara sold 2,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.12, for a total value of $297,348.24. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,082.96. This represents a 38.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John J. Fawcett acquired 698 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $86.43 per share, for a total transaction of $60,328.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $950,730. This trade represents a 6.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bread Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BFH. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Bread Financial by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Bread Financial by 58.7% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Vista Investment Management raised its holdings in Bread Financial by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vista Investment Management now owns 22,858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,692,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

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.