VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Trims Stock Holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lowered its holdings in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 83.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,900 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake 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 during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bread Financial by 46.5% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 345,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,323,000 after buying an additional 109,864 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted 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 valued at $36,889,000 after buying an additional 376,920 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew 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 worth $7,904,000 after acquiring an additional 4,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Bread Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Bread Financial

In other news, Director Roger H. Ballou sold 9,687 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 30,079 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Bread Financial Trading Down 0.9%

BFH opened at $85.98 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.04, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.12. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.17 and a 12 month high of $99.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $80.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.48.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last posted its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $992.05 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 18.79% and a net margin of 11.90%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BFH. Bank of America set a $92.00 price target on Bread Financial and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Bread Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Bread Financial from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays raised their price target on Bread Financial from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $98.00 price objective on Bread Financial in a report on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bread Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.36.

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.