LSV Asset Management Purchases 26,211 Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Bread Financial by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, adding 26,211 shares to reach 306,911 shares valued at about $22.7 million.
• Bread Financial beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting $4.18 EPS versus the $3.00 consensus and revenue of $1.02 billion, up 4.9% year over year.
• The company returned cash to shareholders with a new $0.23 quarterly dividend and continues a $600 million share repurchase program authorized earlier this year.

LSV Asset Management grew its stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 306,911 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 26,211 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned 0.67% of Bread Financial worth $22,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FourThought Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bread Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $432,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bread Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $170,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bread Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,026 shares of the company's stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 11,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $844,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Bread Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $105.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Friday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bread Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.25.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

Shares of BFH opened at $86.54 on Monday. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.17 and a 12 month high of $99.13. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.14. The stock 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 earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $992.05 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.86 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Bread Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bread Financial

In related news, Director Roger H. Ballou sold 9,687 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.32, for a total transaction of $874,929.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 30,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,716,735.28. This represents 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 bought 698 shares of Bread Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $86.43 per share, with a total value of $60,328.14. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 11,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $950,730. The trade was a 6.78% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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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