Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) Short Interest Update

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,870,000 shares, a decline of 8.6% from the November 15th total of 3,140,000 shares. Approximately 5.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 854,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

Shares of BFH stock opened at $65.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.37 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $56.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.34. Bread Financial has a one year low of $28.00 and a one year high of $66.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.86 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $983.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $981.26 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 13.33% and a net margin of 6.37%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bread Financial will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. Bread Financial’s payout ratio is 13.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Bread Financial from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $67.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Bread Financial from $61.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John J. Fawcett bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $51.02 per share, with a total value of $51,020.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $330,252.46. This represents a 18.27 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bread Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BFH. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Bread Financial by 47.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd raised 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 valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 70.3% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 164.0% in 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 period. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.