Squarepoint Ops LLC Buys Shares of 58,279 Upbound Group, Inc. $UPBD

Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 58,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,463,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned 0.10% of Upbound Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UPBD. Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in Upbound Group by 517.8% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 4,535,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,831,000 after purchasing an additional 3,801,043 shares during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP bought a new position in Upbound Group during the second quarter worth about $18,961,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the 1st quarter worth about $10,023,000. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,041,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,240,000 after acquiring an additional 352,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 73.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 532,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,766,000 after acquiring an additional 224,811 shares during the last quarter. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Upbound Group Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:UPBD opened at $17.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.94 and a beta of 1.87. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.82 and a 12 month high of $30.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 36.08% and a net margin of 1.85%.The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Upbound Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.050-4.150 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 17th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 17th. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 107.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on shares of Upbound Group from $40.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Upbound Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Upbound Group from $36.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Upbound Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Upbound Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 1,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $22.27 per share, for a total transaction of $43,448.77. Following the purchase, the director owned 90,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,025,790.55. The trade was a 2.19% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

About Upbound Group

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. It offers furniture comprising mattresses, tires, consumer electronics, appliances, tools, handbags, computers, smartphones, and accessories.