Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 23,646 Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 203,376 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,646 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $12,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BFH. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Bread Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $23,740,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Bread Financial by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,207,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,724,000 after acquiring an additional 286,720 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $15,641,000 after purchasing an additional 251,700 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of 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. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,382,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,393,000 after purchasing an additional 88,081 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on BFH. Compass Point raised their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays raised their price target on Bread Financial from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Bread Financial from $68.00 to $58.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.08.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BFH opened at $44.49 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.82. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.10 and a 52 week high of $66.71. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.02, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.58.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts expect that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Bread Financial’s payout ratio is presently 15.14%.

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.