Moran Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Key Points

• Moran Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake of 38,142 shares in Bread Financial, valued at about $2.824 million and representing roughly 0.08% of the company.
• Bread Financial beat Q4 expectations with $2.07 EPS versus a $0.40 consensus and $975 million in revenue, and its board approved a $600 million share repurchase plan that could buy up to 19% of outstanding stock.
• Institutional investors own 99.52% of the company, analysts' consensus is a "Hold" with an average target of $83.83, while the stock trades near $90.88 (1‑year high $91.30).

Moran Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 38,142 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,824,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Bread Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BFH. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Bread Financial by 241.1% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 537,656 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,711,000 after acquiring an additional 380,039 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Bread Financial by 104.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,604 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,889,000 after acquiring an additional 376,920 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in Bread Financial by 44.5% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 943,659 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,628,000 after acquiring an additional 290,803 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in Bread Financial in the third quarter valued at about $14,090,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in Bread Financial by 395.8% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 274,953 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,334,000 after acquiring an additional 219,501 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BFH shares. Morgan Stanley set a $91.00 target price on Bread Financial and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their target price on Bread Financial from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Bread Financial from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $90.00 target price on Bread Financial and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $98.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bread Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.83.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:BFH opened at $90.88 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock's 50-day moving average is $75.03 and its 200-day moving average is $70.70. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.88 and a 1-year high of $91.30.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $1.67. The company had revenue of $975.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $954.74 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 17.92% and a net margin of 11.02%.During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. Bread Financial's payout ratio is 8.49%.

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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