Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $115.00 and last traded at $113.5050, with a volume of 262 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Friday, July 24th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $105.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $107.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $119.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.58.

Bread Financial Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $103.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.03. The stock has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.79, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.11.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $3.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.81. The company had revenue of $993.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.32 million. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.95% and a return on equity of 18.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.15 EPS. Analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.18%.

Insider Transactions at Bread Financial

In other news, Director Praniti Lakhwara sold 2,802 shares of Bread Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.12, for a total value of $297,348.24. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,082.96. This trade represents a 38.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John J. Fawcett bought 698 shares of Bread Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $86.43 per share, for a total transaction of $60,328.14. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $950,730. This trade represents a 6.78% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Bread Financial in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bread Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Bread Financial during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Bread Financial by 58.7% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 614 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. 99.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.