Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Given Market Perform Rating at JMP Securities

JMP Securities reaffirmed their market perform rating on shares of Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on BFH. Compass Point raised their price objective on Bread Financial from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $36.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays upped 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. 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Bread Financial from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.00.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

BFH opened at $48.14 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.67, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.58. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $48.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.77. Bread Financial has a 1-year low of $36.31 and a 1-year high of $66.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.76. The business had revenue of $970.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $956.17 million. Bread Financial had a net margin of 5.75% and a return on equity of 12.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.73 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Bread Financial will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.92%.

Bread Financial announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bread Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BFH. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Bread Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,004,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Bread Financial in the third quarter worth $810,000. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bread Financial by 11.8% in the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 10,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Bread Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Bread Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $406,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.