Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Stock Price Down 4% – Here’s Why

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Compass Point lifted their price objective on Bread Financial from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report 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 stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Bread Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $35.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two investment 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.69.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $58.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.55. The stock has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.58, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.96.

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

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 15.14%.

Bread Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bread Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BFH. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in Bread Financial by 2,083.3% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bread Financial by 207.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bread Financial during the 4th quarter worth $104,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its position in Bread Financial by 64.6% during the third 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 in the last quarter. 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.