Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 17.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,029,894 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 299,439 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 4.45% of Bread Financial worth $150,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFH. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Bread Financial by 141.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Bread Financial by 8,300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Bread Financial by 1,509.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BFH shares. Wolfe Research restated a “positive” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Wednesday. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bread Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ralph J. Andretta sold 15,000 shares of the 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 owned 582,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,877,673.10. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 Roger H. Ballou sold 9,687 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.32, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 24.36% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Bread Financial Trading Up 2.5%

NYSE BFH opened at $96.61 on Thursday. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.63 and a 12 month high of $99.13. The company has a 50-day moving average of $85.67 and a 200-day moving average of $77.70. 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 company has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.12.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $1.18. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.86 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

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

Bread Financial declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership 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.