Royal Bank of Canada Sells 183,416 Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada cut its Bread Financial stake by 98.3%, selling 183,416 shares and retaining 3,148 shares worth approximately $235,000. Institutional investors collectively own 99.52% of BFH.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: UBS raised its price target to $127 and several firms maintain Buy ratings, but the consensus rating remains Hold with an average target price of $112.08.
• Bread Financial exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.55 in EPS and $993 million in revenue, while revenue increased 6.9% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, equivalent to a 0.9% annual yield.

Royal Bank of Canada lessened its position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 98.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,148 shares of the company's stock after selling 183,416 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada's holdings in Bread Financial were worth $235,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Bread Financial by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,086,060 shares of the company's stock valued at $231,111,000 after purchasing an additional 9,854 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Bread Financial by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,029,894 shares of the company's stock worth $150,273,000 after buying an additional 299,439 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Bread Financial by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,159,731 shares of the company's stock worth $85,866,000 after buying an additional 14,257 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in Bread Financial by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,147,366 shares of the company's stock worth $84,940,000 after buying an additional 203,707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 14.7% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,009,890 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,667,000 after buying an additional 129,774 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $120.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bread Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $119.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Bread Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.08.

Insider Activity at Bread Financial

In other Bread Financial news, Director Praniti Lakhwara sold 2,802 shares of Bread Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.12, for a total transaction of $297,348.24. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at $473,082.96. This trade represents a 38.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

NYSE BFH opened at $105.75 on Friday. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.83 and a 1 year high of $114.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.25, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $105.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.28.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $3.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.81. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.95% and a return on equity of 18.42%. The company had revenue of $993.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.32 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.15 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.18%.

Bread Financial Company 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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