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

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

Upbound Group Stock Down 2.5 %

Upbound Group stock opened at $29.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08 and a beta of 2.05. Upbound Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.50 and a twelve month high of $38.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 3.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.88 and a 200-day moving average of $31.46.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. Upbound Group had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 34.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 3.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on UPBD. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Upbound Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Upbound Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stephens started coverage on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.17.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UPBD. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 268.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 828 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the second quarter worth $42,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 40.1% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the second quarter worth $89,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 374.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 2,590 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.30% 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.