Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Trading 5.8% Higher Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) shares rose 5.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $73.64 and last traded at $72.14. Approximately 351,573 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 966,404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.20.

The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $1.81. Bread Financial had a net margin of 10.08% and a return on equity of 15.97%. The company had revenue of $975.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $954.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share.

Bread Financial announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BFH. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Zacks Research cut shares of Bread Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $72.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Bread Financial from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bread Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.82.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 29,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 46.5% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 345,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,323,000 after purchasing an additional 109,864 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 104.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,889,000 after acquiring an additional 376,920 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Bread Financial by 3.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 157,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,904,000 after acquiring an additional 4,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Bread Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $65,000. Institutional investors own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Bread Financial Trading Up 5.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 7.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $72.73 and a 200 day moving average of $65.38.

About Bread Financial

Bread Financial, formerly known as Alliance Data Systems, is a Columbus, Ohio–based financial services company that specializes in providing private label credit programs, co-brand credit cards and digital payment solutions for retail partners. The company designs, issues and services proprietary credit products, enabling merchants to offer branded financing options that drive customer loyalty and increase basket sizes at the point of sale. Through its Bread technology platform, Bread Financial delivers installment-based payment options that integrate directly into e-commerce and in-store checkout experiences.

In addition to its core credit offerings, Bread Financial provides analytics, marketing and loyalty services to help merchants better understand consumer behavior and optimize promotional strategies.