Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $82.29 and last traded at $82.2150, with a volume of 120810 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $80.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BFH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Bread Financial from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on Bread Financial from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $91.00 target price on Bread Financial and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore upgraded Bread Financial from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.83.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $74.65 and a 200 day moving average of $70.16. The firm has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.77, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.11.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $1.67. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 17.92% and a net margin of 11.02%.The business 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 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Bread Financial’s payout ratio is 8.49%.

Bread Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Bread Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BFH. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Bread Financial by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 29,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after buying an additional 1,286 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Bread Financial by 46.5% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 345,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,323,000 after buying an additional 109,864 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Bread Financial by 104.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,889,000 after buying an additional 376,920 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $7,904,000 after buying an additional 4,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Bread Financial during the first quarter valued at 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.