Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) Shares Sold by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 28,577 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,285 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Upbound Group were worth $834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UPBD. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 80,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,361,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 3.5% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 14,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 13,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 268.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Price Performance

UPBD opened at $26.60 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $29.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 3.66. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.25 and a 52 week high of $38.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 2.05.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. Upbound Group had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 35.47%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Upbound Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This is a boost from Upbound Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.86%. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is 70.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPBD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Upbound Group in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Upbound Group from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Upbound Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Upbound Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 1,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $29.01 per share, with a total value of $33,245.46. Following the acquisition, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.70% 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.