AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 59,090 Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC has reduced its holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. by 30.0%, now owning 137,769 shares valued at approximately $6.73 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions in Bread Financial, with notable boosts from Royal Bank of Canada (39.0%) and Graham Capital Management (444.9%).
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on Bread Financial, with four analysts rating it as a Buy and three as a Sell, while the average target price stands at $64.91.

AQR Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 30.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 137,769 shares of the company's stock after selling 59,090 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.30% of Bread Financial worth $6,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bread Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,071,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 39.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 217,773 shares of the company's stock worth $10,905,000 after acquiring an additional 61,047 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 444.9% in the 1st quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 42,348 shares of the company's stock worth $2,121,000 after acquiring an additional 34,576 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 947.5% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 639 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 578 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 212,841 shares of the company's stock worth $10,659,000 after buying an additional 38,430 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Bread Financial from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Bread Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and set a $52.00 target price (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $105.00 price target on Bread Financial and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bread Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bread Financial news, Director John J. Fawcett bought 1,027 shares of Bread Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $61.79 per share, for a total transaction of $63,458.33. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 10,302 shares in the company, valued at approximately $636,560.58. The trade was a 11.07% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Bread Financial Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Bread Financial stock traded down $1.10 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $61.89. 872,460 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 482,814. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.21 and a twelve month high of $68.01. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $62.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.46.

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

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Bread Financial's payout ratio is currently 14.21%.

Bread Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 27th that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.