FourThought Financial Partners LLC Takes $432,000 Position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

FourThought Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $432,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BFH. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bread Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 141.2% in the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bread Financial by 127.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in Bread Financial by 8,300.0% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 840 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in Bread Financial by 1,509.1% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 885 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Bread Financial Stock Down 2.1%

Bread Financial stock opened at $85.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.12. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.17 and a fifty-two week high of $99.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $80.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.98.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 earnings per share 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%.Bread Financial’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.86 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 7.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bread Financial news, Director Roger H. Ballou sold 9,687 shares of the company’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 sale, the director owned 30,079 shares of the company’s stock, 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Bread Financial from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America set a $92.00 price objective on Bread Financial and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Bread Financial in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Bread Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.25.

Bread Financial 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.