Pzena Investment Management LLC Has $47.39 Million Stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Key Points

• Pzena Investment Management cut its Bread Financial stake by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, but still held 640,130 shares valued at about $47.4 million, or roughly 1.4% of the company.
• Bread Financial reported strong quarterly results, posting $4.18 EPS versus the $3.00 consensus and revenue of $1.02 billion, both ahead of expectations.
• 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 Moderate Buy with an average price target of $94.25.

Pzena Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 640,130 shares of the company's stock after selling 145,287 shares during the quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.40% of Bread Financial worth $47,389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $432,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $170,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Bread Financial by 24.8% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Bread Financial by 6.5% in the 4th 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 last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bread Financial Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:BFH opened at $85.85 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of 7.03, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $80.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.98. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.00 by $1.18. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $992.05 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 18.79% and a net margin of 11.90%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.86 EPS. Analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.53%.

Bread Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $600.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Bread Financial from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Bread Financial from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Bread Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $105.00 price objective on Bread Financial in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Bread Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bread Financial

In other news, Director Roger H. Ballou sold 9,687 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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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