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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BFH has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target 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. Compass Point raised their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Bread Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $35.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.69.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

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

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. Bread Financial had a net margin of 5.75% and a return on equity of 12.41%. Analysts anticipate that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

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

Bread Financial announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Bread Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BFH. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $104,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 550.8% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 462,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,228,000 after acquiring an additional 391,272 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $23,740,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,207,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,724,000 after acquiring an additional 286,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,121,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,353,000 after acquiring an additional 260,283 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

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.