Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 126,629 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,052 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $9,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Bread Financial by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,273,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,120,000 after buying an additional 30,962 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Bread Financial by 0.5% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,076,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,557,000 after buying an additional 16,143 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Bread Financial by 4.4% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,555,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,776,000 after buying an additional 65,223 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Bread Financial by 44.5% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 943,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,628,000 after buying an additional 290,803 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 104.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,889,000 after purchasing an additional 376,920 shares during the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John J. Fawcett purchased 698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was bought at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $950,730. This represents a 6.78% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Roger H. Ballou sold 9,687 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.32, for a total value of $874,929.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 30,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,716,735.28. The trade was a 24.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Bread Financial Stock Up 3.1%

Bread Financial stock opened at $91.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $84.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.46, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.12. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.17 and a twelve month high of $99.13.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $1.18. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $992.05 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 18.79% and a net margin of 11.90%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.86 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $600.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on BFH. TD Cowen upped their price target on Bread Financial from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Bread Financial in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $98.00 price objective on Bread Financial in a report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Bread Financial from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.25.

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.