Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $47.87, but opened at $49.94. Bread Financial shares last traded at $48.95, with a volume of 519,700 shares trading hands.

The company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.82. The firm had revenue of $970.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $956.17 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 12.41% and a net margin of 5.75%.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.14%.

Bread Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BFH. Morgan Stanley lowered Bread Financial from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $33.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, April 7th. Compass Point increased their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bread Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BFH. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,848,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,109,000 after buying an additional 36,057 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Bread Financial during the 4th quarter worth $104,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Bread Financial by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,452,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,299,000 after purchasing an additional 13,679 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,382,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,393,000 after purchasing an additional 88,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,241,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,810,000 after purchasing an additional 120,237 shares during the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bread Financial Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $49.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.70. The company has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

About Bread Financial

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.