Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $60.69, but opened at $63.42. Bread Financial shares last traded at $63.09, with a volume of 58,890 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Bread Financial from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $67.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Bread Financial from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bread Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $55.14.

Bread Financial Trading Up 1.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.78 and a beta of 1.96. The business's 50-day moving average price is $57.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by ($0.03). Bread Financial had a net margin of 6.37% and a return on equity of 13.33%. The firm had revenue of $983.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $981.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Bread Financial's payout ratio is 13.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John J. Fawcett bought 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $51.02 per share, for a total transaction of $51,020.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,473 shares in the company, valued at $330,252.46. This trade represents a 18.27 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Bread Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BFH. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Bread Financial by 11.8% during the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 10,443 shares of the company's stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bread Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $810,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Bread Financial during the third quarter worth about $1,004,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bread Financial by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,155,989 shares of the company's stock worth $55,012,000 after acquiring an additional 13,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Bread Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,350,000. 99.52% of the stock is owned by 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.