Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Stock: Insider Halim Khouri Purchases 11,000 Shares

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) EVP Halim Khouri bought 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $250,580.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 114,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,616,374.12. The trade was a 10.59% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Upbound Group Price Performance

UPBD stock opened at $24.88 on Friday. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.98 and a 12 month high of $25.29. The company has a current ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $17.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.96. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.80.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.10. Upbound Group had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 33.81%. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 6th. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is 82.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Upbound Group in the second quarter worth approximately $194,216,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Upbound Group by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,394,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,227,000 after purchasing an additional 327,203 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in Upbound Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,565,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Upbound Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $18,862,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Upbound Group during the 1st quarter valued at $7,455,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UPBD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Upbound Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered Upbound Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. BTIG Research cut Upbound Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen cut Upbound Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Upbound Group from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.00.

Key Upbound Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting Upbound Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Seven directors and executives, including CEO Fahmi Karam, bought a combined approximately $1.34 million of UPBD shares on November 2–3, at prices of $22.61–$23.00. The breadth and size of the purchases may bolster investor sentiment, although insider buying does not guarantee future results. CEO SEC filing
• Positive Sentiment: In its latest reported quarter, Upbound earned $1.01 per share, topping the $0.91 analyst consensus, and generated $1.15 billion in revenue, above expectations.
• Neutral Sentiment: UPBD shares have recently moved toward their 12-month high, but the provided reports do not establish that insider purchases caused the move.
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly revenue declined 1.3% year over year, tempering the earnings beat and suggesting growth remains a concern.

Upbound Group Company Profile

Upbound Group, Inc is a provider of consumer leasing and retail solutions, operating primarily through its Rent-A-Center and Acima brands. The company enables customers to obtain merchandise through flexible lease-to-own agreements and related payment options, serving consumers who may prefer alternatives to traditional retail financing.

Its Rent-A-Center business operates company-owned and franchised locations, as well as digital channels, offering furniture, appliances, electronics, computers, smartphones and other household goods.