AlphaQuest LLC Reduces Holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

AlphaQuest LLC reduced its position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 40.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,690 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,576 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Bread Financial by 207.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 941 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Bread Financial by 64.6% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 2,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the period. Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $201,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Bread Financial during the 4th quarter worth $201,000. 99.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on BFH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $67.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Compass Point boosted their price target on Bread Financial from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Bread Financial from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bread Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.69.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:BFH opened at $47.58 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.61. 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 cap of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of 8.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.96. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.10 and a fifty-two week high of $66.71.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. Bread Financial had a net margin of 5.75% and a return on equity of 12.41%. Analysts expect that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. Bread Financial’s payout ratio is 15.14%.

Bread Financial announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, March 5th that allows the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.