Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) EVP Acquires $50,094.00 in Stock

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) EVP Balaji Kumar acquired 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $22.77 per share, with a total value of $50,094.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $385,928.73. This trade represents a 14.92% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Upbound Group Stock Down 2.6%

NASDAQ:UPBD opened at $24.24 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 3.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 1.80. Upbound Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.98 and a fifty-two week high of $25.29.

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

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upbound Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UPBD. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Upbound Group in the second quarter valued at about $194,216,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Upbound Group by 15.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,394,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,227,000 after acquiring an additional 327,203 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the second quarter worth $37,565,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Upbound Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $18,862,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Upbound Group during the 1st quarter worth about $7,455,000. Institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.