Azora Capital LP Invests $13.55 Million in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 221,823 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,545,000. Azora Capital LP owned about 0.45% of Bread Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFH. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bread Financial by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,248 shares of the company's stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Bread Financial by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,202 shares of the company's stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Bread Financial by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,872 shares of the company's stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in Bread Financial by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 5,329 shares of the company's stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 30,641 shares of the company's stock worth $1,871,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. 99.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BFH traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $48.68. 551,433 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 880,875. The company has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $48.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.60. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.21 and a 52 week 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.76. The company had revenue of $970.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $956.17 million. Bread Financial had a net margin of 5.75% and a return on equity of 12.41%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.73 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial announced that its Board of Directors 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 typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BFH. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Compass Point increased 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 boosted their price objective on Bread Financial from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.00.

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.