Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Acquires 215,253 Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management sharply increased its stake in Bread Financial, buying 215,253 shares in the fourth quarter and lifting its holdings to about 0.47% of the company worth roughly $16 million.
• Bread Financial reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.18 beating estimates and revenue of $1.02 billion topping expectations; shares were also trading up 3.4% at $87.77.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share and authorized a $600 million share repurchase plan, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a $93.36 price target.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 38,301.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 215,815 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 215,253 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned about 0.47% of Bread Financial worth $15,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Bread Financial by 127.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in Bread Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Bread Financial by 8,300.0% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 840 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its position in Bread Financial by 1,509.1% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 885 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S boosted its position in Bread Financial by 800.0% during the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 900 shares of the company's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BFH shares. Morgan Stanley set a $98.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bread Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of America set a $92.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bread Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $93.36.

Bread Financial Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of BFH opened at $87.77 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $80.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.82. The company has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.17 and a 1-year high of $99.13.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.00 by $1.18. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $992.05 million. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.90% and a return on equity of 18.79%. Bread Financial's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

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

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Roger H. Ballou sold 9,687 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.32, for a total value of $874,929.84. Following the sale, the director directly owned 30,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,716,735.28. This trade represents a 24.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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