Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) CEO Ralph Andretta Sells 15,000 Shares

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) CEO Ralph Andretta sold 15,000 shares of Bread Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.10, for a total value of $1,336,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 582,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,877,673.10. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Bread Financial Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:BFH traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $89.45. 535,615 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 765,718. The stock has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.17 and a 12-month high of $99.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $82.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.02.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $1.18. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for 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%.Bread Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.86 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Bread Financial’s payout ratio is presently 7.53%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BFH. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Bread Financial from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $105.00 price target on Bread Financial in a report on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America set a $92.00 price target on Bread Financial and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Bread Financial from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.25.

Institutional Trading of Bread Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 29,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after buying an additional 1,286 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 46.5% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 345,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,323,000 after buying an additional 109,864 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 104.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,889,000 after buying an additional 376,920 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Bread Financial by 3.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 157,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,904,000 after buying an additional 4,624 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Bread Financial in the first quarter valued at $65,000. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.