Sierra Summit Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Key Points

• Sierra Summit Advisors LLC opened a new position in Bread Financial, buying 11,666 shares worth about $874,000 in the first quarter.
• Bread Financial reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.18 versus the $3.00 estimate and revenue of $1.02 billion, while analysts expect full-year EPS of 10.92.
• The stock has attracted heavy institutional interest, with 99.52% of shares owned by hedge funds and other institutions, and analysts currently rate BFH a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $98.67.

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 11,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $874,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BFH. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 0.5% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,076,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $171,557,000 after acquiring an additional 16,143 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,029,894 shares of the company's stock worth $150,273,000 after acquiring an additional 299,439 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,159,731 shares of the company's stock worth $85,866,000 after purchasing an additional 14,257 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,147,366 shares of the company's stock worth $84,940,000 after purchasing an additional 203,707 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Bread Financial by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 910,301 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,390,000 after purchasing an additional 215,795 shares during the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bread Financial Trading Down 0.1%

BFH stock opened at $102.10 on Friday. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.83 and a 12 month high of $109.91. The firm's 50-day moving average is $93.37 and its 200 day moving average is $81.66. The company has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of 8.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.10. 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 (NYSE:BFH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $1.18. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $992.05 million. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.90% and a return on equity of 18.79%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.86 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.92 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Bread Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ralph J. Andretta sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.10, for a total transaction of $1,336,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 582,241 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,877,673.10. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John J. Fawcett purchased 698 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $86.43 per share, for a total transaction of $60,328.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $950,730. This represents a 6.78% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BFH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $98.00 target price on Bread Financial in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wolfe Research reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Bread Financial from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating 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 report on Monday, April 27th. One 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.67.

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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