Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $21.77 and last traded at $22.01, with a volume of 260232 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Upbound Group Trading Down 9.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The company has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91 and a beta of 2.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $26.90 and a 200-day moving average of $29.42.

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

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.12%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is 70.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 1,146 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $29.01 per share, for a total transaction 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 $2,505,883.80. This represents a 1.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Fahmi Karam purchased 11,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.82 per share, with a total value of $296,930.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 164,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,251,831.04. This trade represents a 7.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upbound Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Upbound Group by 2,864.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 405,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,974,000 after buying an additional 391,888 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $10,214,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Upbound Group by 333.9% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 350,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,237,000 after purchasing an additional 270,064 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Upbound Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,201,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Upbound Group by 171.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 267,618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,806,000 after purchasing an additional 169,197 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Company 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.