Bank of Montreal Can Sells 61,714 Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 23.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 201,167 shares of the company's stock after selling 61,714 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.40% of Bread Financial worth $12,283,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BFH. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position in Bread Financial by 2,083.3% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 524 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Bread Financial by 207.7% in the fourth 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. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC bought a new position in shares of Bread Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Bread Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Institutional investors own 99.52% of the company's stock.

Bread Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BFH traded up $0.89 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $46.76. 797,879 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 878,493. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.25 and a 52-week high of $66.71. 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $50.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.71. The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.58.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Bread Financial's payout ratio is 15.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Bread Financial from $68.00 to $58.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Compass Point lifted their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley downgraded Bread Financial from an "overweight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $33.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Bread Financial from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bread Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $57.08.

About Bread Financial

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.