Legal & General Group Plc Sells 7,052 Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 126,629 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,052 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.28% of Bread Financial worth $9,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BFH. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Bread Financial by 241.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 537,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,711,000 after purchasing an additional 380,039 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Bread Financial by 104.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,889,000 after acquiring an additional 376,920 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Bread Financial by 100.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 716,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,059,000 after acquiring an additional 359,088 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in Bread Financial by 44.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 943,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,628,000 after acquiring an additional 290,803 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in Bread Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $14,090,000. 99.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bread Financial Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of BFH opened at $91.11 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a PE ratio of 7.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $84.12 and a 200 day moving average of $76.79. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.17 and a 52-week high of $99.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

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

Bread Financial announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $600.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Bread Financial

In other Bread Financial news, CEO Ralph J. Andretta sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.10, for a total value of $1,336,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 582,241 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John J. Fawcett purchased 698 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $86.43 per share, with a total value of $60,328.14. Following the acquisition, 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 SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on BFH. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $105.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bread Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bread Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.25.

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.