Martingale Asset Management L P Sells 1,984 Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

Martingale Asset Management L P trimmed its holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,130 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,984 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P owned about 0.06% of Bread Financial worth $1,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $23,740,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,207,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,724,000 after buying an additional 286,720 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Bread Financial by 5,654.9% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 256,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,641,000 after acquiring an additional 251,700 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 474,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,983,000 after acquiring an additional 146,244 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Bread Financial by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,382,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,393,000 after acquiring an additional 88,081 shares in the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bread Financial Trading Down 7.9 %

Shares of Bread Financial stock opened at $44.49 on Friday. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.10 and a 1 year high of $66.71. The company has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its 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%. Research analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Bread Financial’s payout ratio is 15.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on BFH. Compass Point lifted their price target on Bread Financial from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on Bread Financial from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $68.00 to $58.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bread Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.08.

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.