Royal Bank of Canada Sells 183,416 Shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 98.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,148 shares of the company’s stock after selling 183,416 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 5,814.5% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 17,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 17,269 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its stake in Bread Financial by 100.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 716,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,059,000 after purchasing an additional 359,088 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Bread Financial by 38,301.2% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 215,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,977,000 after purchasing an additional 215,253 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Bread Financial by 240.1% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 156,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,600,000 after purchasing an additional 110,616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,887,000. Institutional investors own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Bread Financial Trading Down 2.1%

NYSE BFH opened at $105.75 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $105.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.28. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.83 and a 52-week high of $114.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.11.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $3.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.81. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 18.42% and a net margin of 11.95%.The firm had revenue of $993.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.15 earnings per share. Bread Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $107.00 price target on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Bread Financial from $103.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.08.

Insider Activity at Bread Financial

In other Bread Financial news, Director Praniti Lakhwara sold 2,802 shares of Bread Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.12, for a total transaction of $297,348.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,082.96. The trade was a 38.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.