Edgestream Partners L.P. Decreases Holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Key Points

• Edgestream Partners cut its Bread Financial stake by 60.6% in the first quarter, selling 53,230 shares and retaining 34,588 shares valued at approximately $2.59 million. Institutional investors collectively own 99.52% of the company.
• Bread Financial reported quarterly earnings of $3.55 per share, exceeding estimates of $2.74, while revenue rose 6.9% year over year to $992 million. The stock opened at $107.69, near its 52-week high of $111.13.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally favorable, with eight Buy, six Hold and one Sell rating; the average price target is $110. Bread Financial also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, implying a 0.9% annual yield.

Edgestream Partners L.P. decreased its holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 60.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,588 shares of the company's stock after selling 53,230 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. owned 0.09% of Bread Financial worth $2,590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Bread Financial by 223.4% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 665,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,290,000 after purchasing an additional 459,916 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 241.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 537,656 shares of the company's stock worth $30,711,000 after purchasing an additional 380,039 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Bread Financial by 104.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,604 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,889,000 after purchasing an additional 376,920 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Bread Financial by 100.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 716,725 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,059,000 after buying an additional 359,088 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Bread Financial by 899.4% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 350,061 shares of the company's stock worth $26,216,000 after buying an additional 315,034 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.52% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ralph J. Andretta sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.10, for a total value of $1,336,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 582,241 shares of the company's stock, valued at $51,877,673.10. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John J. Fawcett acquired 698 shares of Bread Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $86.43 per share, for a total transaction of $60,328.14. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $950,730. This trade represents a 6.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BFH. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $94.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Loop Capital started coverage on Bread Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $110.00.

Bread Financial Price Performance

Bread Financial stock opened at $107.69 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.83 and a 1 year high of $111.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $99.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.23.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $3.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.81. The business had revenue of $992.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.32 million. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.95% and a return on equity of 18.42%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.15 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Bread Financial's payout ratio is presently 7.18%.

Bread Financial 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.

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