Geode Capital Management LLC Has $85.87 Million Stock Position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its stake in Bread Financial by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, ending with 1,159,731 shares valued at about $85.87 million.
• Bread Financial reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.18 beating estimates and revenue of $1.02 billion topping expectations; analysts currently have a Moderate Buy consensus and a $94.25 average price target.
• The company has also been active on shareholder returns, authorizing a $600 million buyback and declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, payable June 15.

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,159,731 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,257 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.54% of Bread Financial worth $85,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BFH. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 29,589 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 46.5% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 345,902 shares of the company's stock worth $17,323,000 after acquiring an additional 109,864 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 104.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,604 shares of the company's stock worth $36,889,000 after acquiring an additional 376,920 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 157,833 shares of the company's stock worth $7,904,000 after acquiring an additional 4,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Bread Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.52% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bread Financial

In other news, Director John J. Fawcett acquired 698 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $86.43 per share, for a total transaction of $60,328.14. Following the purchase, the director owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $950,730. This represents a 6.78% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ralph J. Andretta sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.10, for a total transaction of $1,336,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BFH. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bread Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Bread Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $105.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.25.

Bread Financial Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:BFH opened at $91.10 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.12. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.32 and a 52 week high of $99.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $84.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.01.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $1.18. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $992.05 million. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.90% and a return on equity of 18.79%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.86 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $600.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.53%.

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.

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