Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Acquires Shares of 158,693 Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 158,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,194,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. owned about 0.41% of Bread Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Bread Financial in the second quarter worth about $350,000. Miller Value Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Bread Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $14,389,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Bread Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,891,000. J. Goldman & Co LP purchased a new stake in Bread Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $217,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Bread Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $98,764,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BFH has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $94.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays upped their price target on Bread Financial from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Bread Financial from $105.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bread Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.08.

Bread Financial Price Performance

Shares of BFH stock opened at $107.60 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $105.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.97. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.83 and a 12 month high of $114.53. The company has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of 8.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.11.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $3.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.81. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.95% and a return on equity of 18.42%. The business had revenue of $993.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $959.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ralph J. Andretta sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $51,877,673.10. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Praniti Lakhwara sold 2,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.12, for a total value of $297,348.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,082.96. The trade was a 38.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.