American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. has increased its stake in Bread Financial Holdings by 5.8%, acquiring a total position worth $73.21 million with approximately 1.46 million shares.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Bread Financial, with ratings ranging from sell to buy, but the overall consensus rating is "Hold" with an average price target of $64.42.
• Bread Financial reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.14, significantly surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.85, despite revenue falling short of forecasts.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,461,844 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 79,709 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 3.14% of Bread Financial worth $73,209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bread Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 182.8% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,298 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 28.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,457 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $200,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in shares of Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $214,000. Institutional investors own 99.52% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John J. Fawcett bought 1,027 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $61.79 per share, with a total value of $63,458.33. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,302 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $636,560.58. The trade was a 11.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BFH. BTIG Research set a $105.00 target price on Bread Financial and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Bread Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $52.00 price target (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Bread Financial from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bread Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.91.

Bread Financial Stock Up 4.8%

Shares of NYSE:BFH traded up $2.8620 during trading on Friday, hitting $62.4320. The stock had a trading volume of 501,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 574,693. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.21 and a 12 month high of $66.71. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a PE ratio of 10.56, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.42. The firm's fifty day moving average is $59.33 and its 200 day moving average is $53.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $3.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $1.29. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 13.10% and a net margin of 6.05%.The firm had revenue of $929.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $944.69 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.66 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Bread Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts anticipate that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.21%.

Bread Financial Company Profile

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc provides tech-forward payment and lending solutions to customers and consumer-based industries in North America. It offers credit card and other loans financing services, including risk management solutions, account origination, and funding services for private label and co-brand credit card programs, as well as through Bread partnerships; and Comenity-branded general purpose cash-back credit.