American Century Companies Inc. Buys 88,081 Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH)

American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,382,135 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 88,081 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $84,393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BFH. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,121,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,353,000 after purchasing an additional 260,283 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Bread Financial by 5,654.9% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 256,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,641,000 after acquiring an additional 251,700 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake 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. bought a new stake in shares of Bread Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $6,001,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Bread Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $4,276,000. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bread Financial Stock Up 4.8 %

Shares of NYSE:BFH opened at $52.42 on Tuesday. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.10 and a 1 year high of $66.71. The company has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of 9.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.96. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $57.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.21. 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 (NYSE:BFH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 5.75% and a return on equity of 12.41%. Analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Bread Financial’s payout ratio is 15.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BFH has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Bread Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $35.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $68.00 to $58.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $67.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Bread Financial from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.