Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) Shares Bought by Miller Value Partners LLC

Miller Value Partners LLC lifted its position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 304,050 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 45,520 shares during the period. Bread Financial comprises 7.9% of Miller Value Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest position. Miller Value Partners LLC owned 0.61% of Bread Financial worth $18,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Bread Financial by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,848,495 shares of the company's stock worth $357,109,000 after purchasing an additional 36,057 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Bread Financial by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,452,509 shares of the company's stock worth $89,299,000 after purchasing an additional 13,679 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Bread Financial by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,382,135 shares of the company's stock worth $84,393,000 after purchasing an additional 88,081 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Bread Financial by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,207,404 shares of the company's stock worth $73,724,000 after purchasing an additional 286,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in Bread Financial by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 474,660 shares of the company's stock worth $28,983,000 after purchasing an additional 146,244 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.52% of the company's stock.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BFH traded down $1.97 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.47. 348,603 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 880,948. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.31 and a 12 month high of $66.71. The firm has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 8.37, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $48.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last issued 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $956.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.73 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 5th that allows the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Bread Financial from $68.00 to $58.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Bread Financial from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.00.

Bread Financial Company 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.