Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Sells 19,849 Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management cut its Bread Financial stake by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 19,849 shares and leaving it with 118,839 shares valued at about $8.8 million.
• Bread Financial reported strong quarterly earnings, posting EPS of $4.18 versus expectations of $3.00 and revenue of $1.02 billion, both ahead of analyst estimates.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share and a $600 million share repurchase program, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with a $94.25 average price target.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 14.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 118,839 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,849 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.26% of Bread Financial worth $8,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BFH. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in Bread Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Bread Financial by 141.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 562 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bread Financial by 127.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 8,300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 840 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 1,509.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 885 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bread Financial Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE BFH opened at $89.07 on Friday. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.17 and a 1 year high of $99.13. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.94. The company has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.30, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 18.79% and a net margin of 11.90%.The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $992.05 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.86 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

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

Bread Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America set a $92.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Bread Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Bread Financial from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $98.00 price objective on Bread Financial in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One equities 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.25.

Insider Activity

In other Bread Financial news, Director John J. Fawcett purchased 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, for a total transaction of $60,328.14. Following the acquisition, the director owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $950,730. This trade represents a 6.78% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Roger H. Ballou sold 9,687 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.32, for a total transaction of $874,929.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 30,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,716,735.28. The trade was a 24.36% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.30% of the stock is owned by 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.