Moody National Bank Trust Division Takes $241,000 Position in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Moody National Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UPBD. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Upbound Group by 268.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 374.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 2,590 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Upbound Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $142,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Upbound Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $192,000. Institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Price Performance

Shares of Upbound Group stock opened at $29.30 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.21 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 3.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.42. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.50 and a 52 week high of $38.72.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 34.15% and a net margin of 1.91%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 3.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This is an increase from Upbound Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.32%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is currently 107.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPBD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Upbound Group from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Stephens began coverage on Upbound Group in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen raised Upbound Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Upbound Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 1,146 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $29.01 per share, with a total value of $33,245.46. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 86,380 shares in the company, valued at $2,505,883.80. The trade was a 1.34 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group 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.