New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Takes Position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 9,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $579,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BFH. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 2,083.3% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 524 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Bread Financial by 207.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 64.6% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 2,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing 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 fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bread Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. 99.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

NYSE BFH opened at $50.08 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $56.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.23. The company has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.02, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.96. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.10 and a 1-year high of $66.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

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 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BFH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $67.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. 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. Morgan Stanley raised 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 report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.