Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Buys 11,300 Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 128,700 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,300 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $9,528,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 240.1% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 156,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,600,000 after acquiring an additional 110,616 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,159,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,866,000 after acquiring an additional 14,257 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 6,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 33,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,466,000 after acquiring an additional 4,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bread Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $4,887,000. 99.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BFH shares. Bank of America set a $92.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $98.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Bread Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bread Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.25.

Bread Financial Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:BFH opened at $89.07 on Friday. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $49.17 and a one year high of $99.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $82.85 and a 200-day moving average of $75.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.12.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $1.18. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.90% and a return on equity of 18.79%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $992.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.86 EPS. Bread Financial’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current year.

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 is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Bread Financial’s payout ratio is currently 7.53%.

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

Insider Activity at Bread Financial

In other news, Director Roger H. Ballou sold 9,687 shares of Bread Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.32, for a total transaction of $874,929.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 30,079 shares in the company, valued at $2,716,735.28. The trade was a 24.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John J. Fawcett purchased 698 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $86.43 per share, with a total value of $60,328.14. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $950,730. This trade represents a 6.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Bread Financial

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.