Bridgeway Capital Management LLC Has $25.25 Million Stock Holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Bridgeway Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 341,090 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,230 shares during the quarter. Bread Financial accounts for 0.5% of Bridgeway Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $25,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFH. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Bread Financial by 4.5% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Bread Financial by 46.5% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Bread Financial by 104.8% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 157,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,904,000 after purchasing an additional 4,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Bread Financial during the 1st quarter worth $65,000. 99.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bread Financial Price Performance

Shares of BFH stock opened at $101.52 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.37 and a twelve month high of $105.20. The company has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.95.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $992.05 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.86 EPS. Bread Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $600.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bread Financial news, Director John J. Fawcett acquired 698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $86.43 per share, for a total transaction of $60,328.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $950,730. This represents a 6.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ralph J. Andretta sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.10, for a total value of $1,336,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 582,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,877,673.10. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BFH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Bread Financial in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $104.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised Bread Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Bread Financial from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Bread Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.42.

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.