Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on BFH. Barclays upped their target price on Bread Financial from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $98.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $92.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.09.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BFH opened at $70.88 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.13. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.54, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Bread Financial has a 12 month low of $38.21 and a 12 month high of $82.03.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $1.67. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 17.92%. The firm had revenue of $975.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $954.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Bread Financial will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.49%.

Institutional Trading of Bread Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BFH. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bread Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 141.2% in the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 127.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bread Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other 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.