Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases 23,646 Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 203,376 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,646 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.41% of Bread Financial worth $12,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BFH. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bread Financial by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Bread Financial by 4.4% in 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 period. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in Bread Financial by 5.8% in 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 period. Highland Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Bread Financial Trading Down 7.9 %

Shares of BFH stock opened at $44.49 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.58. 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’s 50 day moving average is $52.59 and its 200 day moving average is $55.82. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.10 and a 12-month high of $66.71.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last released its quarterly 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%. Research analysts expect that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BFH shares. Compass Point raised their price objective on Bread Financial from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered Bread Financial from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $33.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bread Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.08.

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.