Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Stock Price Down 4% – What’s Next?

Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) fell 4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $47.47 and last traded at $47.29. 184,384 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 791,360 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on BFH. Compass Point raised their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Bread Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $35.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $68.00 to $58.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $67.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bread Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.69.

Bread Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $57.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 8.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. Bread Financial had a net margin of 5.75% and a return on equity of 12.41%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.14%.

Bread Financial declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFH. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 2,083.3% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Bread Financial by 207.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $104,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its position in Bread Financial by 64.6% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 2,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.