By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its stake in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH – Free Report) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,793 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,315 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.09% of Bread Financial worth $2,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bread Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $810,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,155,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,012,000 after purchasing an additional 13,459 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Bread Financial by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 15,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $921,000 after buying an additional 1,977 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Bread Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $213,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Bread Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,350,000. 99.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised Bread Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Bread Financial from $68.00 to $58.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays raised their target price on Bread Financial from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bread Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.69.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on BFH
Bread Financial Stock Up 0.2 %
BFH opened at $50.08 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 9.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.96. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.10 and a twelve month high of $66.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $56.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.23. 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 – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.41% and a net margin of 5.75%. Sell-side 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 repurchase program on Wednesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.
Bread Financial Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.14%.
Bread Financial 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.
Further Reading
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