Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Upgraded at Evercore

Evercore upgraded shares of Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Evercore currently has $90.00 price target on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Bread Financial from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Bread Financial in a report on Thursday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $92.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $72.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.09.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Bread Financial stock opened at $79.39 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $74.05 and its 200-day moving average is $66.05. The firm has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.26. Bread Financial has a one year low of $38.21 and a one year high of $82.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $954.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Bread Financial will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.49%.

Bread Financial announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Bread Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BFH. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in Bread Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 141.2% in the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Bread Financial by 127.2% during the 2nd 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 period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bread Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in Bread Financial by 8,300.0% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the period. 99.52% of the stock is 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.