Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 66,015 Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group bought a new stake of 66,015 shares in Bread Financial during the fourth quarter, worth about $4.89 million, giving it roughly 0.14% ownership.
• Bread Financial reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.18 versus estimates of $3.00 and revenue of $1.02 billion, up 4.9% year over year.
• The company also authorized a $600 million stock buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target of $94.25.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 66,015 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,887,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.14% of Bread Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 holdings in shares of 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 holdings in shares of 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 holdings in shares of 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Bread Financial during the first quarter worth $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.52% of the company's stock.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

Shares of BFH stock opened at $86.54 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $81.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.31. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.17 and a 12 month high of $99.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.09, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.00 by $1.18. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $992.05 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 18.79% and a net margin of 11.90%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.59 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. Bread Financial's payout ratio is presently 7.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bread Financial news, Director Roger H. Ballou sold 9,687 shares of Bread Financial stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John J. Fawcett acquired 698 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $86.43 per share, with a total value of $60,328.14. Following the acquisition, the director owned 11,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $950,730. This represents a 6.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BFH shares. Morgan Stanley set a $98.00 target price on Bread Financial in a report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on Bread Financial from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Bread Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America set a $92.00 price target on Bread Financial and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bread Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.25.

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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