Great Lakes Advisors LLC Acquires New Shares in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors acquired 52,196 Bread Financial shares worth approximately $5.7 million, while institutional investors collectively owned 99.52% of the company.
• Bread Financial reported quarterly EPS of $3.55, exceeding estimates by $0.81, with revenue rising 6.9% year over year to $993 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but favorable overall: eight analysts rate the stock a Buy, six rate it Hold, and the consensus target price is $110.58. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 52,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,655,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned 0.14% of Bread Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bread Financial during the second quarter worth about $421,314,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 223.4% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 665,812 shares of the company's stock worth $49,290,000 after acquiring an additional 459,916 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Bread Financial by 241.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 537,656 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,711,000 after acquiring an additional 380,039 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Bread Financial by 104.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,604 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,889,000 after acquiring an additional 376,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Bread Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $39,468,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.52% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 582,241 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,877,673.10. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Praniti Lakhwara sold 2,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.12, for a total transaction of $297,348.24. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,458 shares in the company, valued at $473,082.96. This trade represents a 38.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Bread Financial Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of BFH stock opened at $108.53 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $104.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.83 and a 1 year high of $114.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.47, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.11.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $3.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.81. The company had revenue of $993.00 million during 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BFH shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Bread Financial from $120.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Bread Financial from $105.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bread Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bread Financial has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $110.58.

About Bread Financial

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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