Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Has $75.81 Million Stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,241,566 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 120,237 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 2.50% of Bread Financial worth $75,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFH. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bread Financial during the fourth quarter worth $104,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $23,740,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Bread Financial by 31.1% during the fourth 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 during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bread Financial by 5,654.9% in the fourth 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. Finally, Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in Bread Financial in the fourth quarter worth $13,545,000. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bread Financial Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE BFH traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $54.03. The company had a trading volume of 673,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 878,134. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.33. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.21 and a 1-year high of $66.71. The firm's 50 day moving average is $48.46 and its 200-day moving average is $55.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $956.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.73 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.92%.

Bread Financial announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Bread Financial from $68.00 to $58.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Bread Financial from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Monday, April 28th. Compass Point raised their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Bread Financial from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.27.

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.