Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Grows Stock Holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 70.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,364 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,266 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.09% of Bread Financial worth $2,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BFH. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 45.4% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,308 shares of the company's stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 2,596 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 97,723 shares of the company's stock worth $5,967,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 14,620 shares of the company's stock worth $893,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $237,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in shares of Bread Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $284,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $52.00 target price (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Bread Financial from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.92.

Bread Financial Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of Bread Financial stock traded up $1.90 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $62.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 995,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 868,606. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.21 and a 12 month high of $66.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $55.31 and a 200 day moving average of $54.17. The company has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

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

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio is 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.