Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH Position Lessened by Thompson Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Thompson Investment Management Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. by 83.8%, now holding 15,610 shares valued at approximately $892,000.
• Analysts have varied ratings for Bread Financial, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.20, despite differing opinions on future performance from various research firms.
• Bread Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, reflecting a 1.5% yield, as well as a share repurchase plan indicating confidence in the stock's valuation.

Thompson Investment Management Inc. reduced its position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 83.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,610 shares of the company's stock after selling 80,503 shares during the period. Thompson Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BFH. Quarry LP raised its position in Bread Financial by 947.5% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 639 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Bread Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $65,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Bread Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $92,000. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bread Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $166,000. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BFH shares. BTIG Research set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Bread Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Bread Financial from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Bread Financial from $88.00 to $71.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Bread Financial from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.20.

Bread Financial Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of BFH opened at $55.85 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $61.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.21 and a 52-week high of $68.01. The company has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.41.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $3.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $944.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Bread Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts predict that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.21%.

Bread Financial declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 27th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John J. Fawcett bought 1,027 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,302 shares in the company, valued at $636,560.58. The trade was a 11.07% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

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.

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