Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 26.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,513 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,471 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $1,436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BFH. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,121,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,353,000 after purchasing an additional 260,283 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Bread Financial by 38.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 880,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,910,000 after acquiring an additional 243,419 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Bread Financial by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 474,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,983,000 after acquiring an additional 146,244 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Bread Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $6,001,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Bread Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,276,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Bread Financial Price Performance

Shares of Bread Financial stock opened at $53.99 on Friday. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.10 and a twelve month high of $66.71. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $60.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.93. The firm has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 9.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.93.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Compass Point lifted their price target on Bread Financial from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on Bread Financial from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Bread Financial from $67.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Bread Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.69.

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.