Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH Shares Sold by Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. cut its holdings in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 306,886 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,810 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $22,719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Bread Financial by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in Bread Financial by 0.9% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 25,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP boosted its position in Bread Financial by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $606,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in Bread Financial by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 6,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Bread Financial by 141.2% during the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Bread Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $98.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.42.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Roger H. Ballou sold 9,687 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 30,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,735.28. The trade was a 24.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ralph J. Andretta sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were 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 $51,877,673.10. This trade represents a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Bread Financial Price Performance

Shares of BFH stock opened at $101.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $86.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.13. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.63 and a 12 month high of $103.12. The company has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a PE ratio of 8.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.12.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $1.18. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $992.05 million. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.90% and a return on equity of 18.79%. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.86 EPS. Analysts predict that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Bread Financial’s payout ratio is 7.53%.

Bread Financial announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.