Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $80.36, but opened at $72.08. Bread Financial shares last traded at $71.1810, with a volume of 424,273 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BFH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Bread Financial in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $92.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI set a $81.00 target price on Bread Financial in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Bread Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.08.

Bread Financial Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a 50-day moving average of $70.70 and a 200 day moving average of $64.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 7.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.27.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $1.91. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.30 million. Bread Financial had a net margin of 10.08% and a return on equity of 15.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This is a positive change from Bread Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.37%.

Bread Financial declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 23rd that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Bread Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BFH. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Bread Financial by 141.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 127.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bread Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Bread Financial by 8,300.0% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in Bread Financial by 136.2% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 888 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.