Convergence Investment Partners LLC Cuts Stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

Convergence Investment Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 9.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 32,085 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,269 shares during the quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $1,833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BFH. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Bread Financial by 28.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Bread Financial by 5.8% during the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 118,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,938,000 after acquiring an additional 6,507 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Bread Financial by 19.2% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 28,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 4,503 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Bread Financial by 25.6% during the first quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 7,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Bread Financial by 54.0% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 3,047 shares during the last quarter. 99.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bread Financial Stock Performance

Shares of BFH stock opened at $65.54 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a 50 day moving average of $61.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.81. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.21 and a 52 week high of $68.01. The company has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.67, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.41.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $1.91. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 15.97% and a net margin of 10.08%.The company had revenue of $971.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. Bread Financial’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Bread Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Bread Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Bread Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This is an increase from Bread Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Bread Financial’s payout ratio is presently 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John J. Fawcett bought 1,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $61.79 per share, for a total transaction of $63,458.33. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 10,302 shares in the company, valued at approximately $636,560.58. The trade was a 11.07% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BFH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Bread Financial from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Friday. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Bread Financial from $88.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $55.00 price target on Bread Financial and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.27.

About Bread Financial

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc provides tech-forward payment and lending solutions to customers and consumer-based industries in North America. It offers credit card and other loans financing services, including risk management solutions, account origination, and funding services for private label and co-brand credit card programs, as well as through Bread partnerships; and Comenity-branded general purpose cash-back credit.