Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Stock Price Up 5.8% Following Earnings Beat

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)’s share price shot up 5.8% on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $73.64 and last traded at $72.14. 351,573 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 966,404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.20.

The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $1.81. Bread Financial had a net margin of 10.08% and a return on equity of 15.97%. The business had revenue of $975.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $954.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share.

Bread Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BFH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Bread Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bread Financial from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI set a $81.00 price objective on Bread Financial in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.82.

Institutional Trading of Bread Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Curat Global LLC boosted its stake in Bread Financial by 81,068.5% during the 2nd quarter. Curat Global LLC now owns 450,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,732,000 after purchasing an additional 449,930 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Bread Financial by 241.1% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 537,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,711,000 after purchasing an additional 380,039 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 104.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,889,000 after acquiring an additional 376,920 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 44.5% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 943,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,628,000 after buying an additional 290,803 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Bread Financial in the second quarter worth $16,599,000. Institutional investors own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Bread Financial Stock 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.27.

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.