Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $51.37, but opened at $52.94. Bread Financial shares last traded at $52.57, with a volume of 32,784 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BFH. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Bread Financial from $44.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $48.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Bread Financial from $47.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Bread Financial from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.07.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.44. The company has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.47, a PEG ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 1.94.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $1.06. The firm had revenue of $939.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $922.01 million. Bread Financial had a net margin of 9.77% and a return on equity of 16.24%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 7.44 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Bread Financial’s payout ratio is currently 10.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bread Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BFH. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bread Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Bread Financial by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 47.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd increased its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 1,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Bread Financial by 70.3% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Bread Financial Company Profile

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc provides tech-forward payment and lending solutions to customers and consumer-based industries in North America. It offers credit card and other loans financing services, including risk management solutions, account origination, and funding services for private label and co-brand credit card programs, as well as through Bread partnerships; and Comenity-branded general purpose cash-back credit.