Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Price Target Raised to $85.00

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) had its price target raised by TD Cowen from $68.00 to $85.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on BFH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Bread Financial from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Monday, December 29th. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $92.00 target price for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.00.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

NYSE BFH opened at $80.33 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a PE ratio of 8.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19. Bread Financial has a 52-week low of $38.21 and a 52-week high of $82.03. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.35.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $1.91. The firm 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 company’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Bread Financial will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, October 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. This is an increase from Bread Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 9.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bread Financial

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

About Bread Financial

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.