Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 1,379 Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,050 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,379 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BFH. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Bread Financial by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 13,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $639,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Bread Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $536,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its position in Bread Financial by 42.2% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 6,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 1,937 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in Bread Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,711,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Bread Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,550,000. Institutional investors own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on BFH. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Bread Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $68.00 to $58.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $67.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bread Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.69.

Bread Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

Bread Financial stock opened at $50.04 on Friday. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.10 and a 1-year high of $66.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.25.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. Bread Financial had a net margin of 5.75% and a return on equity of 12.41%. On average, analysts predict that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Bread Financial’s payout ratio is currently 15.14%.

Bread Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.