Quantbot Technologies LP Decreases Position in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Quantbot Technologies LP decreased its position in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) by 69.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,382 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,795 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Upbound Group were worth $595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 80,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,361,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 26,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $773,000 after acquiring an additional 616 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Upbound Group by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in Upbound Group by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 13,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 818 shares in the last quarter. 90.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

Upbound Group stock opened at $24.42 on Friday. Upbound Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.35 and a fifty-two week high of $38.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 3.66. The stock has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 2.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $27.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.60.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 35.47% and a net margin of 2.86%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.39%. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is 70.59%.

Insider Activity

In other Upbound Group news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown purchased 1,146 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $29.01 per share, with a total value of $33,245.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 86,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,505,883.80. This trade represents a 1.34 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Fahmi Karam acquired 11,500 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.82 per share, for a total transaction of $296,930.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 164,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,251,831.04. The trade was a 7.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on UPBD shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Upbound Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Upbound Group from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Upbound Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

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.