In its most recent SEC filing, Virginia Retirement Systems et al increased its stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. by 367.9% during the third quarter. The pension fund acquired an additional 30,900 shares, bringing its total position to 39,300 shares, representing approximately 0.08% of the company’s outstanding shares. The new position is valued at $2.19 million, up from $470,000 before the additional purchases, signaling heightened confidence in Bread Financial’s near-term outlook.

Several large institutional investors also shifted their exposures to Bread Financial in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position by 16.9%, acquiring 248,401 more shares to hold 1,720,613 shares valued at $98.3 million. Arrowstreet Capital lifted its stake by 25.1%, adding 247,437 shares to reach 1,233,121 shares worth $70.4 million. American Century Companies and Pzena Investment Management increased their holdings by 2.0% and 9.9%, respectively, while Goldman Sachs more than doubled its first-quarter position with a 104.8% increase, adding 376,920 shares to hold 736,604 shares valued at $36.9 million. Institutional ownership now sits at 99.52%.

In its third-quarter report, Bread Financial delivered earnings of $4.02 per share, beating consensus estimates by $1.91, on revenue of $1.24 billion, which surpassed the consensus by $265.7 million. The company achieved a net margin of 10.08% and a return on equity of 15.97%, up from 1.83 in the prior-year period. Following the results, the board authorized a $200 million stock repurchase program, equating to up to 7.1% of outstanding shares, and raised its quarterly dividend from $0.21 to $0.23 per share, yielding 1.2% on an annualized basis, reflecting management’s view that the stock remains undervalued.