Quest Partners LLC Lowers Position in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Quest Partners LLC reduced its stake in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) by 75.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,682 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,084 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Upbound Group were worth $214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Upbound Group by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,005,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,453,000 after buying an additional 209,422 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in Upbound Group by 112.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 4,827,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,190,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557,906 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Upbound Group by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 761,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,386,000 after purchasing an additional 15,219 shares during the period. Huber Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Upbound Group by 51.4% in the 2nd quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 745,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,881,000 after purchasing an additional 253,104 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Upbound Group by 1,903.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 395,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,154,000 after purchasing an additional 376,129 shares during the period. 90.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Upbound Group Price Performance

UPBD opened at $34.45 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 3.66 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.50 and a 1 year high of $38.72. The firm has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.76 and a beta of 2.01.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 34.15% and a net margin of 1.91%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.30%. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 102.07%.

Insider Activity at Upbound Group

In other Upbound Group news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown purchased 1,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $29.25 per share, for a total transaction of $31,151.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 85,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,493,094.50. This trade represents a 1.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPBD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Upbound Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stephens initiated coverage on Upbound Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Upbound Group from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.17.

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.