Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes $4.89 Million Position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 66,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,887,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes 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 increased its stake in Bread Financial by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 209,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,658,000 after acquiring an additional 22,745 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Bread Financial by 44.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 943,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,628,000 after acquiring an additional 290,803 shares during the last quarter. Brooktree Capital Management increased its position in shares of Bread Financial by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Brooktree Capital Management now owns 164,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,151,000 after purchasing an additional 8,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Bread Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $14,090,000. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bread Financial Trading Down 0.1%

BFH opened at $86.54 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of 7.09, a PEG ratio of 0.82 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 has a 50 day moving average of $81.42 and a 200-day moving average of $75.31. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.17 and a 52 week high of $99.13.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last posted 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. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 18.79% and a net margin of 11.90%.The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $992.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

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

Bread Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $105.00 price objective on Bread Financial in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Bread Financial from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research upgraded Bread Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Loop Capital assumed coverage on Bread Financial in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bread Financial news, Director John J. Fawcett bought 698 shares of Bread Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $86.43 per share, with a total value of $60,328.14. Following the acquisition, the director owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $950,730. This trade represents a 6.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Roger H. Ballou sold 9,687 shares of Bread Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.32, for a total value of $874,929.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 30,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,716,735.28. The trade was a 24.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.