Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Decreases Position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its holdings in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 26.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,513 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,471 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Bread Financial were worth $1,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFH. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,121,329 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,353,000 after buying an additional 260,283 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in Bread Financial by 38.2% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 880,827 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,910,000 after acquiring an additional 243,419 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Bread Financial by 44.5% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 474,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,983,000 after acquiring an additional 146,244 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Bread Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,001,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Bread Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,276,000. 99.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BFH shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Bread Financial from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays increased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Compass Point raised their price objective on Bread Financial from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $59.69.

Bread Financial Price Performance

NYSE BFH traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $51.02. 900,426 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 700,532. The company has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a PE ratio of 9.19, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.10 and a 52-week high of $66.71. The firm's 50-day moving average is $60.20 and its 200-day moving average is $56.92.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share 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 forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.14%.

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

Bread Financial Profile

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.