Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 121,659 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,610 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $7,428,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in Bread Financial by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bread Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $579,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Bread Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $23,740,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Bread Financial by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,848,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,109,000 after buying an additional 36,057 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Bread Financial by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 39,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,393,000 after acquiring an additional 16,081 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on BFH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Bread Financial from $67.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Compass Point upped their price target on Bread Financial from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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 research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Bread Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bread Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.69.

Bread Financial Price Performance

Shares of Bread Financial stock opened at $50.08 on Tuesday. 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 company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.10 and a 12 month high of $66.71. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $56.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.23.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. Bread Financial had a net margin of 5.75% and a return on equity of 12.41%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

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

Bread Financial announced that its board 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 buy up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management 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.