New York State Common Retirement Fund Raises Holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 68.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,419 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,800 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.07% of Bread Financial worth $2,224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 47.3% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,808 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in Bread Financial by 169.5% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 11,131 shares of the company's stock valued at $515,000 after buying an additional 7,000 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 6.2% in the third quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,778 shares of the company's stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 10.1% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 13,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $624,000 after acquiring an additional 1,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bread Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $890,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.52% of the company's stock.

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Bread Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BFH traded up $0.51 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $51.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 900,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 700,532. The company has a 50-day moving average of $60.20 and a 200-day moving average of $56.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.93. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.10 and a 12 month high of $66.71.

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

Bread Financial declared that its board has approved 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 buy up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Bread Financial from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $35.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Compass Point lifted their target price on Bread Financial from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.