Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Stock Price Down 6.3%

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)’s share price traded down 6.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $29.14 and last traded at $29.63. 172,185 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 379,569 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.62.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UPBD. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Upbound Group in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Upbound Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $38.17.

Upbound Group Trading Up 1.3 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $32.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 3.12.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.02. Upbound Group had a positive return on equity of 33.40% and a negative net margin of 0.61%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. Upbound Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 3rd were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.81%. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently -321.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 991 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $30.68 per share, with a total value of $30,403.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 83,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,673.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $30.68 per share, for a total transaction of $30,403.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 83,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,673.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Anthony J. Blasquez sold 12,485 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.18, for a total value of $414,252.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,956,525.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upbound Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UPBD. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the third quarter valued at about $1,760,000. Swiss National Bank purchased a new position in Upbound Group during the third quarter valued at $3,078,000. Invesco Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $14,154,000. Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $170,877,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund purchased a new position in Upbound Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $705,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Company Profile

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.