GSA Capital Partners LLP Invests $2.29 Million in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 21,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,293,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP owned about 0.06% of Bread Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BFH. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 5,814.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 17,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 17,269 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Bread Financial by 100.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 716,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,059,000 after purchasing an additional 359,088 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Bread Financial by 38,301.2% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 215,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,977,000 after buying an additional 215,253 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 240.1% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 156,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,600,000 after buying an additional 110,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 18.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 630,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,198,000 after buying an additional 96,771 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BFH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group upped their target price on Bread Financial from $120.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $105.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bread Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Zacks Research downgraded Bread Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $107.00 target price on Bread Financial in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bread Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.58.

Bread Financial Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE BFH opened at $113.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.11. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.83 and a 52-week high of $114.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $103.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.90.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $3.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $992.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $959.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.15 earnings per share. Bread Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 7.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bread Financial news, CEO Ralph J. Andretta sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.10, for a total transaction of $1,336,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 582,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,877,673.10. This trade represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The sale 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 John J. Fawcett acquired 698 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $86.43 per share, with a total value of $60,328.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $950,730. This represents a 6.78% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

About Bread Financial

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.