Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) Director Jeffrey J. Brown Buys 1,146 Shares

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 1,146 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $29.01 per share, for a total transaction of $33,245.46. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 86,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,505,883.80. This trade represents a 1.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Upbound Group Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of UPBD opened at $29.12 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $31.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.44. The company has a current ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08 and a beta of 2.05. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.50 and a 1-year high of $38.72.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Upbound Group had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 34.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 3.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Upbound Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.36%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This is a boost from Upbound Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 107.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in Upbound Group by 112.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 4,827,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,190,000 after acquiring an additional 2,557,906 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Upbound Group by 2,864.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 405,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,974,000 after purchasing an additional 391,888 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Upbound Group by 1,903.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 395,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,154,000 after buying an additional 376,129 shares during the period. Huber Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Upbound Group by 51.4% in the 2nd quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 745,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,881,000 after buying an additional 253,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,607,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on UPBD shares. Stephens began coverage on Upbound Group in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Upbound Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Upbound Group from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Upbound Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upbound Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.17.

Upbound Group Company Profile

Upbound Group, Inc leases household durable goods to customers on a lease-to-own basis in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. It operates through four segments: Rent-A-Center, Acima, Mexico, and Franchising. The company's brands, such as Rent-A-Center and Acima that facilitate consumer transactions across a range of store-based and virtual channels.