Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 5,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $546,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in 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 boosted its position 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 buying an additional 359,088 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 38,301.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 18.1% in 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 during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 240.1% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 156,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,600,000 after acquiring an additional 110,616 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

Bread Financial stock opened at $108.53 on Thursday. 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 has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a PE ratio of 8.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $104.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.88. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.83 and a fifty-two week high of $114.53.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $3.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.81. The company had revenue of $993.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $959.32 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 18.42% and a net margin of 11.95%.Bread Financial’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.15 earnings per share. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bread Financial

In other news, CEO Ralph J. Andretta sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 582,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,877,673.10. This trade represents a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a 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 Praniti Lakhwara sold 2,802 shares of Bread Financial stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BFH. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wolfe Research reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $104.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bread Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.58.

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.