Share Buyback Program Announced by Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Board

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bread Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BFH opened at $79.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Bread Financial has a fifty-two week low of $38.21 and a fifty-two week high of $82.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.35. The company has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 7.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.26.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $1.67. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 17.92%. The firm had revenue of $975.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $954.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bread Financial will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BFH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $72.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $92.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Bread Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. 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 research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.09.

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.