Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Bread Financial beat expectations for the quarter with EPS of $4.18 vs. $3.00 expected and revenue of $1.02B (up 4.9% YoY), alongside strong margins (ROE 18.8%) and upgraded forward estimates from some analysts.
• The board approved a $600 million share repurchase program (up to 19% of shares), declared a $0.23 quarterly dividend (1.0% yield), and priced an offering of depositary shares for Series B preferred at an 8.875% fixed‑rate reset to bolster capital.
• Vanguard trimmed its stake by 3% (sold 157,760 shares) but remains a major holder at about 11.2% of BFH, valued at roughly $378.7 million.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,116,037 shares of the company's stock after selling 157,760 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.20% of Bread Financial worth $378,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 141.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 562 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 127.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Bread Financial in the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 8,300.0% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 840 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 1,509.1% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 885 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the period. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bread Financial Price Performance

BFH opened at $88.43 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.24, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.12. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.15 and a 1 year high of $99.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $78.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.18.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.00 by $1.18. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $992.05 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 18.79% and a net margin of 11.90%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.86 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Bread Financial's payout ratio is currently 7.53%.

Bread Financial declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bread Financial News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Bread Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised longer‑term earnings forecasts (FY2026 and FY2028 EPS notably higher) and reiterated a "Strong‑Buy" rating — analysts boosted FY2026 to $10.39 from $9.29 and FY2028 to $12.06, and raised several quarterly/annual models (including a large boost to Q1 2028). These upgrades improve forward earnings visibility and likely supported buying interest.
• Neutral Sentiment: Bread priced an underwritten offering of 4.8M depositary shares (each 1/40th of a Series B preferred) carrying an 8.875% fixed‑rate reset; underwriters have a 30‑day option for an additional 720K shares. Proceeds are earmarked for general corporate purposes, including possible contributions to Comenity Capital Bank and share repurchases — this strengthens capital but introduces fixed cost capital. GlobeNewswire — Pricing of Offering
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also announced the launch of the depositary share offering (initial press release) and plans to list the depositary shares on the NYSE — signals management is proactively bolstering funding options. GlobeNewswire — Launch of Offering
• Negative Sentiment: A fund sold $4.7M of BFH shares amid the recent run-up — likely profit‑taking rather than a vote of no confidence, but it could add short‑term selling pressure in a stretched rally. Motley Fool — Why This Fund Sold $4.7M

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on BFH. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $105.00 target price on Bread Financial in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Bread Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group began coverage on Bread Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $92.00 target price for the company. Finally, Zacks Research raised Bread Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bread Financial

In other Bread Financial news, Director Roger H. Ballou sold 9,687 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.32, for a total value of $874,929.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 30,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,716,735.28. The trade was a 24.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Bread Financial Company Profile

Bread Financial, formerly known as Alliance Data Systems, is a Columbus, Ohio–based financial services company that specializes in providing private label credit programs, co-brand credit cards and digital payment solutions for retail partners. The company designs, issues and services proprietary credit products, enabling merchants to offer branded financing options that drive customer loyalty and increase basket sizes at the point of sale. Through its Bread technology platform, Bread Financial delivers installment-based payment options that integrate directly into e-commerce and in-store checkout experiences.

In addition to its core credit offerings, Bread Financial provides analytics, marketing and loyalty services to help merchants better understand consumer behavior and optimize promotional strategies.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.