Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Sets New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $63.25 and last traded at $63.19, with a volume of 591226 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $61.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BFH. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Bread Financial from $48.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $61.00 to $57.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $50.00.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm's 50-day moving average is $53.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.06. The stock has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.87 and a beta of 1.96.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $983.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $981.26 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 13.33% and a net margin of 6.37%. Bread Financial's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Bread Financial's payout ratio is 13.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bread Financial

In related news, Director John J. Fawcett purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $51.02 per share, for a total transaction of $51,020.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at $330,252.46. The trade was a 18.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bread Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BFH. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,035 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Bread Financial by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,778 shares of the company's stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Bread Financial by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,836 shares of the company's stock valued at $617,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 2.8% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 13,421 shares of the company's stock worth $639,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 30.0% during the second quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 1,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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