Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at UBS Group

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) was upgraded by equities research analysts at UBS Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $57.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target 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. Finally, Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.00.

Bread Financial Stock Up 1.5%

BFH opened at $81.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.27, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $70.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.11. Bread Financial has a twelve month low of $38.21 and a twelve month high of $81.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $1.91. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Bread Financial will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 23rd that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Bread Financial by 141.2% during the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 127.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Bread Financial during the second quarter valued at $42,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in Bread Financial by 1,509.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 830 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.