Bank of New York Mellon Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 474,183 shares of the company's stock after selling 66,221 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.95% of Bread Financial worth $28,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BFH. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Bread Financial by 64.6% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 2,631 shares of the company's stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in Bread Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $201,000. Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in Bread Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $209,000. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bread Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $213,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.52% of the company's stock.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

BFH traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $48.27. 595,441 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 761,975. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.96. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $59.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.10 and a 1-year high of $66.71.

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Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 12.41% and a net margin of 5.75%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BFH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Bread Financial from $67.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley raised Bread Financial from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bread Financial has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.