Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH Shares Sold by Miller Value Partners LLC

Miller Value Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 25.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 201,415 shares of the company’s stock after selling 68,595 shares during the period. Bread Financial accounts for about 5.3% of Miller Value Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Miller Value Partners LLC’s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $14,911,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 25,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 6,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 141.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 329 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 related news, CEO Ralph J. Andretta sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.10, for a total value of $1,336,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 582,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,877,673.10. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John J. Fawcett bought 698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $86.43 per share, with a total value of $60,328.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $950,730. This trade represents a 6.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Bread Financial Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE BFH opened at $101.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 8.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.37 and a 52-week high of $105.20. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $88.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.95.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $1.18. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $992.05 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 18.79% and a net margin of 11.90%.The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.86 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $600.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 7.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on BFH. Zacks Research upgraded Bread Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $98.00 price objective on Bread Financial in a report on Friday, April 24th. Loop Capital began coverage on Bread Financial in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bread Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.42.

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.