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

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BFH. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in shares of Bread Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $214,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Bread Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,735,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Bread Financial by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 28,303 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,728,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 236,038 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,412,000 after purchasing an additional 26,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 73.9% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 174,411 shares of the company's stock worth $10,650,000 after purchasing an additional 74,113 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on BFH. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $52.00 target price (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. BTIG Research set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Bread Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target 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. Four equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Bread Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John J. Fawcett acquired 1,027 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $61.79 per share, for a total transaction of $63,458.33. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,302 shares in the company, valued at $636,560.58. This represents a 11.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Bread Financial Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:BFH traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $63.84. The stock had a trading volume of 503,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 798,981. The company has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.46. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.21 and a twelve month high of $68.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.60.

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

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.21%.

Bread Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, August 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

About Bread Financial

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.