State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Has $727,000 Stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lowered its stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 37.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,910 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,256 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Bread Financial were worth $727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position in 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 during the period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bread Financial during the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Bread Financial by 207.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised 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. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Bread Financial during the 4th quarter worth $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.52% of the company's stock.

Bread Financial Price Performance

Shares of Bread Financial stock opened at $48.84 on Friday. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.21 and a twelve month high of $66.71. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.58. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $48.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.63.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $970.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $956.17 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 12.41% and a net margin of 5.75%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.73 earnings per share. As a group, 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 stock buyback program on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on BFH. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Bread Financial from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Bread Financial from $68.00 to $58.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Compass Point increased their price objective on Bread Financial from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $36.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.

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