Swiss National Bank Boosts Stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 97,723 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $5,967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Bread Financial by 2.8% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 13,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bread Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $536,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,937 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bread Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,550,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Bread Financial by 1.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 730,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,759,000 after purchasing an additional 13,484 shares in the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:BFH opened at $50.04 on Monday. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.10 and a 12 month high of $66.71. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 9.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.96. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $57.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.24.

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

Bread Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Compass Point boosted their price objective on Bread Financial from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $67.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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 note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.69.

Bread Financial 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.