Optimize Financial Inc Invests $371,000 in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Key Points

• Optimize Financial Inc. has acquired a new stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc., purchasing 7,407 shares valued at approximately $371,000.
• Major institutional investors have been increasing their holdings in Bread Financial, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. growing its stake by 104.8%, now owning 736,604 shares.
• Bread Financial recently announced a dividend of $0.21 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.3%, and initiated a stock repurchase program indicating management's belief in the stock's undervaluation.

Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $371,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Bread Financial by 5.8% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,461,844 shares of the company's stock worth $73,209,000 after acquiring an additional 79,709 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 45.0% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,320,418 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,127,000 after acquiring an additional 409,877 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased 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 valued at $36,889,000 after acquiring an additional 376,920 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 0.8% during the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 728,204 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,468,000 after acquiring an additional 6,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 0.9% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 606,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,376,000 after acquiring an additional 5,291 shares in the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BFH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Bread Financial from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. BTIG Research set a $105.00 price objective on Bread Financial and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $52.00 target price (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Bread Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bread Financial has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.91.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John J. Fawcett bought 1,027 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $61.79 per share, for a total transaction of $63,458.33. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 10,302 shares of the company's stock, valued at $636,560.58. The trade was a 11.07% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Bread Financial Price Performance

NYSE BFH traded up $0.85 during trading on Monday, reaching $64.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 168,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 796,984. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of 10.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $62.07 and a 200 day moving average of $54.60. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $38.21 and a one year high of $68.01.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $3.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $1.29. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 13.10% and a net margin of 6.05%.The firm had revenue of $929.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $944.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.66 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Bread Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts expect that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.21%.

Bread Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Bread Financial

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc provides tech-forward payment and lending solutions to customers and consumer-based industries in North America. It offers credit card and other loans financing services, including risk management solutions, account origination, and funding services for private label and co-brand credit card programs, as well as through Bread partnerships; and Comenity-branded general purpose cash-back credit.