Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Bread Financial Stock Up 2.0 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $53.84 and a 200 day moving average of $50.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.87 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) 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 company had revenue of $983.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $981.26 million. Bread Financial had a net margin of 6.37% and a return on equity of 13.33%. The business’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bread Financial news, Director John J. Fawcett bought 1,000 shares of Bread Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $51.02 per share, for a total transaction of $51,020.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $330,252.46. This represents a 18.27 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bread Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BFH. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Bread Financial by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in Bread Financial by 47.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd grew its position in Bread Financial by 30.0% in the second quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 1,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 70.3% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in Bread Financial by 164.0% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 1,463 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

About Bread Financial

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.