HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 2,596 Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 45.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,308 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,596 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Bread Financial by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $797,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 88.5% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 33,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,005,000 after purchasing an additional 15,883 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 327.9% in the fourth quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 57,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,497,000 after purchasing an additional 43,887 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in Bread Financial during the fourth quarter worth $308,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Bread Financial by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 103,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,314,000 after purchasing an additional 5,320 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 $49.95 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 9.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.96. 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 50-day moving average of $56.42 and a 200-day moving average of $56.21. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.10 and a 52-week high of $66.71.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Bread Financial from $68.00 to $58.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley raised Bread Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. Two equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.