Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Sees Large Volume Increase

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 1,330,621 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 208% from the previous session’s volume of 431,752 shares.The stock last traded at $31.19 and had previously closed at $30.69.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UPBD. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Upbound Group from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Loop Capital reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on Upbound Group in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Upbound Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.40.

Upbound Group Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 3.96. The company has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -66.73 and a beta of 2.00.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.01. Upbound Group had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Upbound Group

In other news, EVP Ralph T. Montrone sold 15,000 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.48, for a total value of $487,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,603.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Upbound Group news, EVP Ralph T. Montrone sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.48, for a total transaction of $487,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,074 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,603.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Transient C. Taylor sold 15,127 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.00, for a total value of $514,318.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $498,134. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Upbound Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Upbound Group by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 31,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,072,000 after acquiring an additional 3,574 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Upbound Group by 71.3% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 95,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,232,000 after buying an additional 39,596 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,148,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,981,000 after buying an additional 62,832 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Upbound Group in the fourth quarter valued at $12,170,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP boosted its stake in Upbound Group by 108.6% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 27,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $931,000 after acquiring an additional 14,270 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.