QRG Capital Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 3,664 Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 5,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 5,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bread Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BFH opened at $48.73 on Friday. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.10 and a 52 week high of $66.71. 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 market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.78, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $59.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.82.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last posted 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 net margin of 5.75% and a return on equity of 12.41%. Analysts anticipate that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on BFH. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Bread Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. 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. Compass Point increased their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.