Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires 129,774 Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC increased its stake in Bread Financial by 14.7% in the first quarter, buying 129,774 more shares and bringing its total holdings to 1,009,890 shares valued at about $74.7 million.
• Bread Financial continues to attract heavy institutional interest, with investors like Millennium Management, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, UBS, and SG Americas also boosting their positions; institutions now own 99.52% of the company.
• Analysts are broadly cautious but improving on the stock: recent target hikes pushed the consensus price target to $107.92, while the overall rating remains “Hold” despite several Buy ratings.

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 14.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,009,890 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 129,774 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 2.50% of Bread Financial worth $74,667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Bread Financial by 223.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake 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 valued at $30,711,000 after purchasing an additional 380,039 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $36,889,000 after purchasing an additional 376,920 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 100.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 716,725 shares of the company's stock worth $53,059,000 after purchasing an additional 359,088 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 899.4% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 350,061 shares of the company's stock worth $26,216,000 after purchasing an additional 315,034 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on BFH. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Bread Financial from $94.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays raised shares of Bread Financial from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $105.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $94.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bread Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.92.

Bread Financial Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE BFH opened at $99.33 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 capitalization of $4.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.13, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $95.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.24. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.83 and a 52-week high of $109.91.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $1.18. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for 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%.Bread Financial's revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.53%.

Insider Activity at Bread Financial

In other news, Director John J. Fawcett acquired 698 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 of the company's stock, valued at $950,730. The trade was a 6.78% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Roger H. Ballou sold 9,687 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the director directly owned 30,079 shares in the company, valued at $2,716,735.28. This trade represents a 24.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.30% of the stock is currently 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.

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