Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH Stock Holdings Lowered by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 46.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 52,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,046 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $5,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Bread Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $421,314,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Bread Financial during the second quarter worth about $98,764,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Bread Financial during the second quarter worth about $65,806,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bread Financial in the third quarter worth about $55,054,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Bread Financial in the second quarter worth about $50,051,000. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BFH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Citigroup reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Seaport Research Partners set a $123.00 price target on Bread Financial in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Barclays cut their price target on Bread Financial from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Bread Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.71.

Bread Financial Price Performance

BFH opened at $97.99 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $103.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 7.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.26. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $59.26 and a 1 year high of $114.53.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.50. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.19% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.02 EPS. Bread Financial’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 30th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Bread Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 30th. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.26%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John Fawcett bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $22.60 per share, for a total transaction of $226,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $339,000. This represents a 200.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased a total of 15,016 shares of company stock valued at $351,230 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

About Bread Financial

Bread Financial is a consumer financial services company that works with retailers and other businesses to offer payment and lending products. Its services include private-label and co-branded credit cards, installment payment options and other financing solutions designed for purchases with participating merchants. The company also offers deposit products through Bread Savings, including online savings accounts and certificates of deposit. Its products serve consumers primarily in the United States.