Headlands Technologies LLC Boosts Stock Position in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) by 57.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,978 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,816 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Upbound Group were worth $787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,590 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $174,000. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Upbound Group

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Upbound Group from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.00.

Upbound Group Price Performance

Shares of UPBD opened at $24.26 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.42. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.82 and a 1-year high of $38.72. The stock has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 2.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 3.66 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

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

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.43%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.59%.

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.