Atria Investments Inc Takes $308,000 Position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

Atria Investments Inc purchased a new position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $308,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Bread Financial by 30.2% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,121,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,353,000 after buying an additional 260,283 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 38.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 880,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,910,000 after acquiring an additional 243,419 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Bread Financial by 44.5% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 474,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,983,000 after purchasing an additional 146,244 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Bread Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,001,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Bread Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,276,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Bread Financial Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:BFH opened at $47.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.62, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.96. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.10 and a 1-year high of $66.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $58.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. Bread Financial’s payout ratio is presently 15.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BFH shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Bread Financial from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on Bread Financial from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Compass Point upped their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $67.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bread Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.