BNP Paribas Financial Markets Cuts Position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lessened its stake in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 85.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,736 shares of the company's stock after selling 697,967 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.24% of Bread Financial worth $7,311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BFH. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position in Bread Financial by 2,083.3% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 524 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bread Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Bread Financial by 207.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Bread Financial by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,103 shares of the company's stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bread Financial during the fourth quarter worth $201,000. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on BFH. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $68.00 to $58.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Compass Point boosted their price objective on Bread Financial from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bread Financial has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.27.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

BFH traded down $0.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $54.03. The stock had a trading volume of 673,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 878,134. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.21 and a twelve month high of $66.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.73, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company's 50-day moving average price is $48.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.68.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.76. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 12.41% and a net margin of 5.75%. The company had revenue of $970.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $956.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.73 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.92%.

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.