Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Director Roger Ballou Sells 9,687 Shares

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) Director Roger Ballou sold 9,687 shares of Bread Financial 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 directly owned 30,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,716,735.28. This represents a 24.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:BFH opened at $88.03 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.15. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.04 and a fifty-two week high of $99.13. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.18. The company has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 7.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.11.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $992.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.86 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 9.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Bread Financial’s payout ratio is presently 7.53%.

Bread Financial declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bread Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BFH. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 29,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Bread Financial by 46.5% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 345,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,323,000 after purchasing an additional 109,864 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Bread Financial by 104.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,889,000 after purchasing an additional 376,920 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Bread Financial by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 157,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,904,000 after buying an additional 4,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Bread Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,000. 99.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BFH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Bread Financial from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Bread Financial from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore upgraded Bread Financial from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America set a $92.00 price target on Bread Financial and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $98.00 price target on Bread Financial in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.55.

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.