Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Takes $338,000 Position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $338,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFH. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in Bread Financial by 2,083.3% in the 4th 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 period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bread Financial in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 207.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the company's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bread Financial in the 4th quarter worth $104,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Bread Financial in the 4th quarter worth $200,000. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BFH has been the subject of several analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $68.00 to $58.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.27.

Bread Financial Price Performance

Shares of BFH traded up $1.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $52.74. 810,301 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 876,410. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.18 and a 200-day moving average of $54.91. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.21 and a 52 week high of $66.71. The stock has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.37, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.76. Bread Financial had a net margin of 5.89% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The business had revenue of $970.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $956.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.73 EPS. The business's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.92%.

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.