Point72 Asset Management L.P. Acquires 391,272 Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 550.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 462,307 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 391,272 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. owned 0.93% of Bread Financial worth $28,228,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 2,083.3% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 524 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bread Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Bread Financial by 207.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the company's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Bread Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $104,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Bread Financial by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,103 shares of the company's stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the period. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BFH shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Bread Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.27.

Bread Financial Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:BFH traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $51.09. The stock had a trading volume of 213,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 871,751. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20, 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $48.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.75.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $956.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.73 EPS. The business's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders 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 is Friday, May 9th. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.92%.

Bread Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.