Graham Capital Management L.P. Has $475,000 Stock Position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

Graham Capital Management L.P. cut its position in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 88.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,772 shares of the company’s stock after selling 60,747 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Bread Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $104,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bread Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $23,740,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 31.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,207,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,724,000 after purchasing an additional 286,720 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its position in Bread Financial by 5,654.9% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 256,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,641,000 after purchasing an additional 251,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $13,545,000. 99.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bread Financial Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:BFH opened at $54.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $48.46 and its 200-day moving average is $55.68. The company has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.33. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.21 and a 52-week high of $66.71.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.76. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 12.41% and a net margin of 5.75%. The firm had revenue of $970.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $956.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.73 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.92%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BFH shares. 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 report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Bread Financial from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bread Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.27.

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.