Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $91.30 and last traded at $90.85, with a volume of 1329256 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $90.58.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BFH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Bank of America set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Bread Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.83.

Bread Financial Stock Up 0.7%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $75.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.11.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $1.67. The firm had revenue of $975.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $954.74 million. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 17.92%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. Bread Financial’s payout ratio is presently 8.49%.

Bread Financial announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bread Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BFH. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Bread Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in Bread Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Bread Financial by 141.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 8,300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.