Empowered Funds LLC Raises Position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 3.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 193,123 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,574 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $14,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Bread Financial by 5,814.5% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 17,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 17,269 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 100.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 716,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,059,000 after acquiring an additional 359,088 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Bread Financial by 38,301.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 215,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,977,000 after purchasing an additional 215,253 shares during the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,824,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Bread Financial by 101.9% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,593,000 after purchasing an additional 17,680 shares in the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BFH opened at $107.16 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.76. The stock has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.36, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.83 and a 12 month high of $110.14.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $3.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.81. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.95% and a return on equity of 18.42%. The firm had revenue of $992.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.15 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 582,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,877,673.10. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John J. Fawcett bought 698 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $86.43 per share, for a total transaction of $60,328.14. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $950,730. The trade was a 6.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BFH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $94.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $103.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.00.

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.