Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) Shares Sold by Thompson Investment Management Inc.

Thompson Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 14.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 96,113 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,057 shares during the period. Thompson Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $4,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFH. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 2,083.3% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 524 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bread Financial in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bread Financial in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 182.8% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 207.7% during the fourth 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. 99.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bread Financial Stock Up 2.2%

Bread Financial stock opened at $52.35 on Wednesday. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.21 and a fifty-two week high of $66.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $49.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.13. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.76. The business had revenue of $970.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $956.17 million. Bread Financial had a net margin of 5.75% and a return on equity of 12.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.73 EPS. Analysts predict that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BFH shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Bread Financial from $68.00 to $58.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Bread Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Bread Financial from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.