Hsbc Holdings PLC Boosts Stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC increased its Bread Financial stake by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 78,229 more shares and lifting its position to 880,116 shares worth about $65.4 million.
• Analysts remain generally constructive on BFH: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus with a $98.67 target price, while BTIG Research recently raised its target to $132 and kept a buy rating.
• Bread Financial reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.18 beating estimates and revenue of $1.02 billion topping forecasts; the company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share.

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 880,116 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 78,229 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 2.04% of Bread Financial worth $65,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BFH. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Bread Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in Bread Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Bread Financial by 141.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 562 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Bread Financial by 127.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 8,300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 840 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BFH shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. BTIG Research increased their price target on Bread Financial from $105.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Bread Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $98.00 target price on Bread Financial in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bread Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.67.

Bread Financial Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE BFH opened at $102.10 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.10. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $93.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.71. 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 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.86 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Ralph J. Andretta sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John J. Fawcett bought 698 shares of Bread Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $86.43 per share, with a total value of $60,328.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $950,730. The trade was a 6.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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