SG Americas Securities LLC Increases Stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC dramatically increased its Bread Financial stake by 899.4% in the first quarter, buying an additional 315,034 shares to bring its total holdings to 350,061 shares worth about $26.2 million.
• Bread Financial reported strong quarterly earnings, posting EPS of $4.18 versus the $3.00 consensus estimate and revenue of $1.02 billion, with revenue up 4.9% year over year.
• The company has remained active on capital returns and market momentum, with a $600 million share buyback authorization, a quarterly dividend of $0.23, and a stock price trading near its 52-week high at $104.97.

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) by 899.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 350,061 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 315,034 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.85% of Bread Financial worth $26,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BFH. Evolve Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 5.1% in the first quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,306 shares of the company's stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in Bread Financial by 215.3% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 12,265 shares of the company's stock valued at $919,000 after buying an additional 8,375 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Bread Financial by 49.2% in the 1st quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,074 shares of the company's stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 2,004 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Bread Financial by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 880,116 shares of the company's stock worth $65,383,000 after acquiring an additional 78,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Bread Financial by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,206 shares of the company's stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.52% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Roger H. Ballou sold 9,687 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.32, for a total value of $874,929.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 30,079 shares in the company, valued at $2,716,735.28. This trade represents a 24.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John J. Fawcett purchased 698 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $86.43 per share, for a total transaction of $60,328.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $950,730. This represents a 6.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BFH shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Bread Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Bread Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.42.

Bread Financial Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:BFH opened at $104.97 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $90.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.14. The stock has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.83 and a 12 month high of $105.70.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.00 by $1.18. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.90% and a return on equity of 18.79%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $992.05 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.86 earnings per share. Bread Financial's revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.53%.

About Bread Financial

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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