UBS Group Begins Coverage on Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH)

Equities research analysts at UBS Group began coverage on shares of Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $92.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 14.53% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $81.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.00.

Bread Financial Price Performance

NYSE BFH opened at $80.33 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.29. Bread Financial has a 52 week low of $38.21 and a 52 week high of $82.03. The stock has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $1.91. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 15.97% and a net margin of 10.08%.The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Bread Financial will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, October 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Bread Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Bread Financial by 141.2% during the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Bread Financial by 127.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bread Financial in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 8,300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 1,509.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 885 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. 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.