Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 97,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,569,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BFH. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Bread Financial by 4.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bread Financial by 46.5% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 345,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,323,000 after acquiring an additional 109,864 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Bread Financial by 104.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,889,000 after acquiring an additional 376,920 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 4,624 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Bread Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 99.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bread Financial news, Director Praniti Lakhwara sold 2,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.12, for a total transaction of $297,348.24. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,082.96. This trade represents a 38.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Bread Financial Stock Up 0.5%

BFH opened at $108.14 on Friday. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.83 and a 12 month high of $114.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $105.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.17.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $3.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.81. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 18.42% and a net margin of 11.95%.The company had revenue of $993.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.15 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Bread Financial from $120.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Bread Financial from $103.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Bread Financial in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $107.00 price objective on Bread Financial in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their target price on Bread Financial from $105.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.08.

Bread Financial Company 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.