Insider Buying: Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Director Acquires 698 Shares of Stock

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) Director John Fawcett purchased 698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $86.43 per share, for a total transaction of $60,328.14. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $950,730. This trade represents a 6.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Bread Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BFH traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $86.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 184,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 764,520. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.17 and a 52 week high of $99.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $80.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 7.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.12.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last issued 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. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 18.79% and a net margin of 11.90%.The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $992.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.86 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bread Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Bread Financial by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $810,000 after buying an additional 200 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 worth $1,405,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Vista Investment Management raised its position in shares of Bread Financial by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vista Investment Management now owns 22,858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,692,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BFH shares. Morgan Stanley set a $98.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays boosted their price target 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. Loop Capital started coverage on Bread Financial in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Bread Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Bread Financial from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.25.

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.