Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Acquires Shares of 20,733 Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 20,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,156,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BFH. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Bread Financial by 947.5% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 639 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Bread Financial by 127.2% in 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. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Bread Financial in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Bread Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in Bread Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $92,000. 99.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bread Financial Trading Down 1.4%

Bread Financial stock opened at $76.70 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $66.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.81, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.28. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.21 and a 52-week high of $78.98.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $1.91. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $974.30 million. Bread Financial had a net margin of 10.08% and a return on equity of 15.97%. Bread Financial’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Bread Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 27th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This is an increase from Bread Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BFH shares. Morgan Stanley set a $57.00 price target on Bread Financial and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a report on Monday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Bread Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.18.

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.