Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $2.35 Million Stock Position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 38,427 shares of the company’s stock after selling 584 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Bread Financial were worth $2,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in shares of Bread Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $284,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Bread Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $237,000. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 154,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,406,000 after purchasing an additional 34,365 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 14,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $893,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 2,083.3% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

BFH stock opened at $51.32 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $56.65 and a 200-day moving average of $56.11. The firm has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 9.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.96. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.10 and a 12-month high of $66.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on BFH. Barclays increased their price target on Bread Financial from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $68.00 to $58.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $67.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Bread Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $35.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Two 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.69.

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.