Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 133,638 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,026 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $8,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Bread Financial by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,121,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,353,000 after buying an additional 260,283 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Bread Financial by 5,654.9% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 256,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,641,000 after purchasing an additional 251,700 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Bread Financial by 44.5% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 474,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,983,000 after purchasing an additional 146,244 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Bread Financial in the third quarter worth $6,001,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Bread Financial during the third quarter valued at $4,276,000. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

Shares of BFH opened at $49.95 on Friday. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.10 and a 52-week high of $66.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 9.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $56.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

Bread Financial declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on BFH. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $68.00 to $58.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley raised Bread Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $35.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Compass Point raised their price target on Bread Financial from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Bread Financial from $67.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.69.

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.