US Bancorp DE Buys 1,977 Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 15.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,087 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,977 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Bread Financial by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 64.6% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 2,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC bought a new position in shares of Bread Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $201,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Bread Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in Bread Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Bread Financial Price Performance

NYSE BFH opened at $48.73 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of 8.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.85. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. Research analysts predict that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on BFH shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays lifted 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Bread Financial from $67.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.69.

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.