Bank of America Corp DE Cuts Stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

Bank of America Corp DE reduced its position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 73.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,666 shares of the company's stock after selling 162,980 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.12% of Bread Financial worth $3,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BFH. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $23,740,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Bread Financial by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,207,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,724,000 after purchasing an additional 286,720 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bread Financial by 5,654.9% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 256,151 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,641,000 after purchasing an additional 251,700 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Bread Financial by 44.5% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 474,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,983,000 after purchasing an additional 146,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Bread Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $5,980,000. 99.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on BFH. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Bread Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Bread Financial from $68.00 to $58.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Bread Financial from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bread Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.27.

Bread Financial Trading Down 0.2%

Bread Financial stock traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $51.14. The stock had a trading volume of 704,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 871,202. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.21 and a twelve month high of $66.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 9.22, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $49.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.43.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $970.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $956.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.73 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Bread Financial's payout ratio is currently 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.