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Reasons Why Investors Should Retain Bread Financial (BFH)

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Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (BFH - Free Report) is well-poised for growth, driven by higher retained earnings, active risk management, solid consumer spending and capital deployment.

Zacks Rank

Bread Financial currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Earnings Surprise History

BFH surpassed earnings estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average being 139.93%.

Style Score

Bread Financial has a favorable VGM Score of A. The VGM Score helps identify stocks with the most attractive value, best growth and most promising momentum.

Return on Equity

Bread Financial’s return on average equity of 24.8% in the third quarter of 2023 expanded 200 basis points year over year. Return on equity is a profitability measure that shows how efficiently a company is utilizing shareholders’ money.

Business Tailwinds

The credit sales performance is expected to improve on the back of solid consumer spending. With the continued growth of credit sales, average loans are likely to increase. With new partner additions and holiday spending, BFH continues to expect strong credit sales.

Credit metrics should remain strong with delinquency and net loss rates remaining below the historical averages. Given disciplined, proactive risk management and strong consumer payment behavior, net loss rates are expected to remain low.

Capital ratios are likely to improve on the back of a rise in retained earnings, thus providing flexibility to continue to support profitable growth.

Bread Financial boasts a strong balance sheet by virtue of its solid cash position and has sufficient cash reserves to meet debt obligations.

BFH remains focused on returning value to its shareholders. It uses share repurchases as a tool to mitigate the adverse impact of foreign exchange and intends to focus more on share buybacks and mergers and acquisitions.

Price Performance

In the past six months, the stock has gained 1.1% compared with the industry’s rise of 6%. Strong fundamentals of Bread Financial are likely to help the stock bounce back.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked financial transaction service providers are Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR - Free Report) , Fiserv, Inc. (FI - Free Report) and RB Global, Inc. (RBA - Free Report) . While FOUR sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), FI and RBA carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Shift4 Payments’ earnings surpassed estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average being 25.03%. In the past six months, shares of FOUR have risen 8.1%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FOUR’s 2024 earnings indicates a year-over-year increase of 32%.

Fiserv’s earnings surpassed estimates in two of the last four quarters and matched in two, the average being 0.58%. In the past six months, shares of FI have gained 6.1%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FI’s 2024 earnings indicates a year-over-year increase of 14.3%.

RB Global’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average being 18.93%. In the past six months, shares of RBA have surged 11.9%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RBA’s 2024 earnings indicates a year-over-year increase of 9.3%.

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