AQR Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 30.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 137,769 shares of the company’s stock after selling 59,090 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.30% of Bread Financial worth $6,733,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Bread Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,071,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Bread Financial by 39.0% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 217,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,905,000 after purchasing an additional 61,047 shares in the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in Bread Financial by 444.9% during the first quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 42,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,121,000 after acquiring an additional 34,576 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 947.5% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 639 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its position in Bread Financial by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 212,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,659,000 after purchasing an additional 38,430 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Bread Financial

In other Bread Financial news, Director John J. Fawcett acquired 1,027 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $61.79 per share, with a total value of $63,458.33. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 10,302 shares in the company, valued at approximately $636,560.58. This trade represents a 11.07% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Bread Financial Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Bread Financial stock opened at $64.02 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.21 and a 52-week high of $68.01. The firm has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.46. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.52.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $3.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $1.29. The firm had revenue of $929.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $944.69 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 13.10% and a net margin of 6.05%.Bread Financial’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.66 earnings per share. Bread Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, August 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Bread Financial’s payout ratio is currently 14.21%.

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.