Pzena Investment Management LLC Invests $35.48 Million in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 327,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,479,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Bread Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bread Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 141.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 127.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 58.7% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bread Financial news, Director John J. Fawcett acquired 698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $86.43 per share, with a total value of $60,328.14. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Praniti Lakhwara sold 2,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.12, for a total value of $297,348.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,082.96. This trade represents a 38.60% 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on BFH. Zacks Research lowered Bread Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wolfe Research reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Bread Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Bread Financial from $105.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.58.

Bread Financial Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Bread Financial stock opened at $111.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.83 and a fifty-two week high of $114.53. The company has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.11.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $3.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.81. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 18.42% and a net margin of 11.95%.The firm had revenue of $993.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $959.32 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.15 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 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 currently 7.18%.

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.