Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Buys 11,300 Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Key Points

• Hillsdale Investment Management increased its Bread Financial stake by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 11,300 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 128,700 shares worth about $9.53 million.
• Bread Financial reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.18 beating expectations by $1.18 and revenue of $1.02 billion topping estimates; revenue also rose 4.9% year over year.
• The company remains active on shareholder returns and analysts are mixed: Bread Financial authorized a $600 million share buyback and declared a $0.23 quarterly dividend, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $94.25.

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 128,700 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,300 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.28% of Bread Financial worth $9,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BFH. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 380,039 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $36,889,000 after acquiring an additional 376,920 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 100.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 716,725 shares of the company's stock worth $53,059,000 after acquiring an additional 359,088 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 44.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 943,659 shares of the company's stock worth $52,628,000 after acquiring an additional 290,803 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Bread Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $14,090,000. 99.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Roger H. Ballou sold 9,687 shares of Bread Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.32, for a total transaction of $874,929.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 30,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,716,735.28. This trade represents a 24.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John J. Fawcett purchased 698 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $86.43 per share, with a total value of $60,328.14. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $950,730. The trade was a 6.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BFH shares. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Bread Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bread Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.25.

Bread Financial Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of BFH stock opened at $89.07 on Friday. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.17 and a 12-month high of $99.13. The company has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $82.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

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

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

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

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