Morgan Stanley Increases Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Price Target to $68.00

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) had its target price lifted by Morgan Stanley from $62.00 to $68.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 6.33% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on BFH. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $98.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Friday. Zacks Research downgraded Bread Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bread Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.27.

Bread Financial Stock Down 0.6%

BFH stock opened at $72.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.17. The business’s 50-day moving average is $73.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.54. Bread Financial has a fifty-two week low of $38.21 and a fifty-two week high of $82.03.

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

Bread Financial declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, October 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bread Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,273,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,120,000 after buying an additional 30,962 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Bread Financial by 0.5% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,076,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,557,000 after acquiring an additional 16,143 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Bread Financial by 16.9% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,720,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,281,000 after acquiring an additional 248,401 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Bread Financial by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,555,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,776,000 after acquiring an additional 65,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Bread Financial by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,233,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,436,000 after purchasing an additional 247,437 shares in the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bread Financial News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Bread Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results materially beat expectations — strong EPS and revenue, with management highlighting improved credit metrics and solid margins, which supports near-term profitability. MarketBeat Earnings Summary
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG reaffirmed a “buy” rating and maintained a $98 price target (significant upside vs. the current share level), offering a bullish analyst counterpoint that may support the stock. TickerReport: BTIG Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Company commentary and investor materials indicate low single-digit loan growth guidance for 2026 and improving credit metrics (delinquencies down year-over-year), which reduces downside risk from credit cycles. Seeking Alpha: Credit Metrics Update
• Neutral Sentiment: Bread declared a quarterly common dividend of $0.23 per share (payable March 16, ex-dividend Feb 27), providing modest income but not a large yield. GlobeNewswire: Dividend Notice
• Neutral Sentiment: Company performance update published December metrics (net loss rate 7.4%, delinquency ~5.8%) — shows improvement vs. prior year but still-elevated loss levels that investors will monitor. GlobeNewswire: Performance Update
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call materials and transcript are available for deeper read — useful for investors assessing forward commentary on losses, loan growth and buyback/dividend plans. Seeking Alpha: Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $68 but kept an “underweight” stance — the PT implies downside from current levels and signals caution from a major institutional shop, which can weigh on sentiment. Benzinga: Analyst Note

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.