Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH Shares Sold by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC reduced its stake in Bread Financial Holdings by 9.7%, now holding approximately 0.40% of the company worth $9.27 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their positions in the company, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its stake by 28% in the first quarter.
• Bread Financial reported robust earnings of $3.14 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.85, despite a slight year-over-year revenue decline.

Empowered Funds LLC lowered its position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 9.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185,122 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,963 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.40% of Bread Financial worth $9,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Bread Financial by 28.0% during 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 period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 15.0% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,816 shares of the company's stock worth $542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,412 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 2.9% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 488,316 shares of the company's stock worth $24,455,000 after purchasing an additional 13,656 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bread Financial during the fourth quarter worth $338,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Bread Financial by 1.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 244,503 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,245,000 after purchasing an additional 3,416 shares during the period. 99.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Bread Financial

In related news, Director John J. Fawcett purchased 1,027 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $61.79 per share, with a total value of $63,458.33. Following the acquisition, the director owned 10,302 shares in the company, valued at $636,560.58. The trade was a 11.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BFH shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased 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. BTIG Research set a $105.00 target price on Bread Financial and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $52.00 price target (up from $45.00) on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Bread Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.91.

Bread Financial Price Performance

NYSE:BFH opened at $64.30 on Wednesday. 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 52 week low of $38.21 and a 52 week high of $68.01. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $61.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 10.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.46.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $3.14 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $929.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $944.69 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.66 earnings per share. Bread Financial's revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Bread Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan 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. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

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

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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