Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $110.14 and last traded at $108.03, with a volume of 402946 shares. The stock had previously closed at $107.78.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on BFH shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Bread Financial from $94.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $107.00 price objective on Bread Financial in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen upped their price target on Bread Financial from $103.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $119.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bread Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.00.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $98.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $3.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.81. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 18.42% and a net margin of 11.95%.The business had revenue of $992.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.15 earnings per share. Bread Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 11.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.18%.

Insider Activity at Bread Financial

In related news, Director John J. Fawcett acquired 698 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $86.43 per share, with a total value of $60,328.14. Following the acquisition, the director owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $950,730. This represents a 6.78% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ralph J. Andretta sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.10, for a total transaction of $1,336,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 582,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,877,673.10. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bread Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of 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 lifted its stake in Bread Financial by 46.5% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 345,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,323,000 after purchasing an additional 109,864 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Bread Financial by 104.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,889,000 after purchasing an additional 376,920 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 4,624 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Bread Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.