Intech Investment Management LLC Increases Holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management boosted its stake in Bread Financial by 240.1% in the fourth quarter, ending with 156,689 shares worth about $11.6 million.
• Bread Financial reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.18 topping estimates and revenue of $1.02 billion beating expectations; analysts now see about $10.59 EPS for the year.
• The company also has a $600 million stock buyback authorization and recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, while Wall Street maintains a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $94.25.

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 240.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 156,689 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 110,616 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned about 0.34% of Bread Financial worth $11,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFH. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in 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 worth $1,482,000 after buying an additional 1,286 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Bread Financial by 46.5% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 345,902 shares of the company's stock worth $17,323,000 after buying an additional 109,864 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Bread Financial by 104.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,604 shares of the company's stock worth $36,889,000 after buying an additional 376,920 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Bread Financial by 3.0% during the first 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 buying an additional 4,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Bread Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.52% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BFH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Bread Financial from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Bread Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $104.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Bread Financial from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Bread Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Bread Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One investment 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.25.

Bread Financial Price Performance

NYSE:BFH opened at $89.07 on Friday. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.17 and a 52 week high of $99.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $82.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.94.

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

Bread Financial declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program 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 programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

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

Bread Financial 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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