Pzena Investment Management LLC Sells 145,287 Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Pzena Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 18.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 640,130 shares of the company’s stock after selling 145,287 shares during the quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $47,389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Bread Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,620,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 12.2% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 209,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,658,000 after buying an additional 22,745 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 44.5% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 943,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,628,000 after buying an additional 290,803 shares in the last quarter. Brooktree Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 5.1% in the third quarter. Brooktree Capital Management now owns 164,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,151,000 after buying an additional 8,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Bread Financial in the third quarter worth about $14,090,000. Institutional investors own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BFH opened at $85.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.17 and a 1-year high of $99.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $80.87 and its 200 day moving average is $74.98.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $1.18. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $992.05 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 18.79% and a net margin of 11.90%.Bread Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $600.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bread Financial

In related news, Director Roger H. Ballou sold 9,687 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.32, for a total transaction of $874,929.84. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 30,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,735.28. This trade represents a 24.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BFH shares. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Bread Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $98.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $99.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Bread Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bread Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.25.

Bread Financial Profile

Bread Financial, formerly known as Alliance Data Systems, is a Columbus, Ohio–based financial services company that specializes in providing private label credit programs, co-brand credit cards and digital payment solutions for retail partners. The company designs, issues and services proprietary credit products, enabling merchants to offer branded financing options that drive customer loyalty and increase basket sizes at the point of sale. Through its Bread technology platform, Bread Financial delivers installment-based payment options that integrate directly into e-commerce and in-store checkout experiences.

In addition to its core credit offerings, Bread Financial provides analytics, marketing and loyalty services to help merchants better understand consumer behavior and optimize promotional strategies.