Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Hits New 12-Month High Following Insider Buying Activity

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider buying activity. The stock traded as high as $25.29 and last traded at $25.20, with a volume of 825,584 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.66.

Specifically, EVP Scott A. Young bought 6,015 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $24.95 per share, with a total value of $150,074.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 6,015 shares in the company, valued at $150,074.25. This represents a ? increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Fahmi Karam bought 12,165 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $24.66 per share, with a total value of $299,988.90. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 271,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,684,758.82. This trade represents a 4.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In related news, CEO Fahmi Karam purchased 4,407 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $22.71 per share, with a total value of $100,082.97. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 258,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,879,891.52. The trade was a 1.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Upbound Group Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $17.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.23 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 3.17 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Stockholders 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 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 6th. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is 82.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upbound Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UPBD. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the second quarter worth $194,216,000. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Upbound Group in the second quarter valued at $37,565,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Upbound Group in the second quarter valued at $18,862,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Upbound Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $8,683,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Upbound Group during the 1st quarter worth about $7,455,000. 90.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Upbound Group Company Profile

Upbound Group, Inc. provides lease-to-own and retail services through brands including Rent-A-Center and Acima. Its offerings let customers obtain merchandise through flexible payment arrangements, with the option to own items after completing the required payments. The company’s products include furniture, appliances, electronics, computers and smartphones. Rent-A-Center serves customers through company-operated stores and franchise locations, while Acima provides lease-to-own options through participating retail partners and online channels.