Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 82.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 396,691 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 179,059 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.98% of Bread Financial worth $29,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in Bread Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial by 141.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. 99.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Roger H. Ballou sold 9,687 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.32, for a total transaction of $874,929.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 30,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,735.28. This represents a 24.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John J. Fawcett purchased 698 shares of Bread Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $86.43 per share, with a total value of $60,328.14. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $950,730. This trade represents a 6.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Bread Financial Stock Up 0.0%

BFH stock opened at $99.33 on Monday. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $53.83 and a one year high of $109.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a PE ratio of 8.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.10. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $95.66 and a 200-day moving average of $83.24.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $1.18. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $992.05 million. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.90% and a return on equity of 18.79%. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.86 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.98 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on BFH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Bread Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bread Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $98.00 target price on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Bread Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.92.

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.