Vestcor Inc Acquires New Shares in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

Vestcor Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BFH. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Bread Financial by 207.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its position in Bread Financial by 64.6% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 2,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Bread Financial by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the period. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in Bread Financial during the 4th quarter worth $201,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Bread Financial during the 4th quarter worth $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Bread Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Bread Financial stock opened at $47.88 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $57.82 and its 200-day moving average is $56.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 8.63, 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. 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 announced 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 15.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BFH. 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. Morgan Stanley raised Bread Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Compass Point boosted their price objective on Bread Financial from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment 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 MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.