Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH Stake Boosted by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 880,116 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 78,229 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 2.04% of Bread Financial worth $65,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BFH. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,273,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,120,000 after purchasing an additional 30,962 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,076,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,557,000 after buying an additional 16,143 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Bread Financial by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,029,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,273,000 after buying an additional 299,439 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Bread Financial by 4.4% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,555,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,776,000 after acquiring an additional 65,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Bread Financial by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,159,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,866,000 after acquiring an additional 14,257 shares during the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $874,929.84. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ralph J. Andretta sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.10, for a total value of $1,336,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 582,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,877,673.10. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Bread Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.42.

Bread Financial Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of BFH stock opened at $103.86 on Tuesday. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.26 and a 12 month high of $105.20. The company has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of 8.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $89.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.68.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $1.18. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.90% and a return on equity of 18.79%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $992.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.86 earnings per share. Bread Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 7.53%.

Bread Financial Company 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.