AlphaQuest LLC Takes Position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 29,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,620,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Bread Financial by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $810,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 3.3% during the third quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 34,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Bread Financial by 1.0% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 31,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,736,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in Bread Financial by 6.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 10,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $581,000 after buying an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in Bread Financial by 162.6% in the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 44,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,460,000 after buying an additional 27,308 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Bread Financial Stock Down 0.6%

BFH stock opened at $72.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $73.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.21 and a 12 month high of $82.03.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $1.67. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 17.92%. The company had revenue of $975.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $954.74 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.49%.

Bread Financial declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, October 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Key Headlines Impacting Bread Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting Bread Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results materially beat expectations — strong EPS and revenue, with management highlighting improved credit metrics and solid margins, which supports near-term profitability. MarketBeat Earnings Summary
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG reaffirmed a “buy” rating and maintained a $98 price target (significant upside vs. the current share level), offering a bullish analyst counterpoint that may support the stock. TickerReport: BTIG Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Company commentary and investor materials indicate low single-digit loan growth guidance for 2026 and improving credit metrics (delinquencies down year-over-year), which reduces downside risk from credit cycles. Seeking Alpha: Credit Metrics Update
• Neutral Sentiment: Bread declared a quarterly common dividend of $0.23 per share (payable March 16, ex-dividend Feb 27), providing modest income but not a large yield. GlobeNewswire: Dividend Notice
• Neutral Sentiment: Company performance update published December metrics (net loss rate 7.4%, delinquency ~5.8%) — shows improvement vs. prior year but still-elevated loss levels that investors will monitor. GlobeNewswire: Performance Update
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call materials and transcript are available for deeper read — useful for investors assessing forward commentary on losses, loan growth and buyback/dividend plans. Seeking Alpha: Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $68 but kept an “underweight” stance — the PT implies downside from current levels and signals caution from a major institutional shop, which can weigh on sentiment. Benzinga: Analyst Note

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Bread Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $84.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Bread Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bread Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.27.

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.