Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. reduced its stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. by 2.8%, owning approximately 1,206,374 shares valued at $60.42 million as of the latest disclosure.
• Bread Financial reported a quarterly earnings per share of $3.14, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.85, with a net margin of 6.05% despite a slight year-over-year revenue decline.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, representing a 1.3% yield, to be paid on September 12th, with a low payout ratio of 14.21%.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,206,374 shares of the company's stock after selling 35,192 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 2.59% of Bread Financial worth $60,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BFH. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 601,255 shares of the company's stock worth $36,713,000 after buying an additional 65,138 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in Bread Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $214,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Bread Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,735,000. Interval Partners LP bought a new position in Bread Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,090,000. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Bread Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,523,000. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Bread Financial from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Bread Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $52.00 price objective (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Bread Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $105.00 target price on Bread Financial and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Bread Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.91.

Bread Financial Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of BFH traded down $1.27 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $64.30. 631,462 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 804,622. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.21 and a 1 year high of $68.01. The firm's fifty day moving average is $61.74 and its 200-day moving average is $54.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.46.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $3.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $1.29. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 13.10% and a net margin of 6.05%.The firm had revenue of $929.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $944.69 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Bread Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.21%.

Bread Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, August 27th that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Bread Financial

In other news, Director John J. Fawcett bought 1,027 shares of Bread Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $61.79 per share, for a total transaction of $63,458.33. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 10,302 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $636,560.58. The trade was a 11.07% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Bread Financial Profile

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc provides tech-forward payment and lending solutions to customers and consumer-based industries in North America. It offers credit card and other loans financing services, including risk management solutions, account origination, and funding services for private label and co-brand credit card programs, as well as through Bread partnerships; and Comenity-branded general purpose cash-back credit.