Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Bread Financial from $103.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wolfe Research raised Bread Financial from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Bread Financial in a research report on Friday, September 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bread Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.29.

Bread Financial Price Performance

Bread Financial stock opened at $107.96 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.10. Bread Financial has a one year low of $53.83 and a one year high of $114.53. The business has a fifty day moving average of $106.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 11.95% and a return on equity of 18.42%. The business had revenue of $993.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.32 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.15 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Bread Financial will post 12.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. Bread Financial’s payout ratio is 7.18%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Praniti Lakhwara sold 2,802 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.12, for a total transaction of $297,348.24. Following the sale, the director owned 4,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,082.96. This trade represents a 38.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bread Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $421,314,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Bread Financial by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,086,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,111,000 after acquiring an additional 9,854 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Bread Financial by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,029,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,273,000 after acquiring an additional 299,439 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Bread Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $98,764,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Bread Financial by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,159,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,866,000 after acquiring an additional 14,257 shares during the period. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Bread Financial

Bread Financial Corporation (NYSE: BFH) is a financial services company that provides payment, lending and savings solutions for consumers and businesses. Its offerings include private-label and co-branded credit cards, installment loans, buy now, pay later financing and direct-to-consumer savings products.

The company works with retailers and brands to design and manage customized credit programs, including account servicing, underwriting, transaction processing and customer engagement services.