Barclays PLC Purchases 94,333 Shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Barclays PLC lifted its position in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Free Report) by 42.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 316,225 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 94,333 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.58% of Upbound Group worth $10,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of UPBD. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 112.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 4,827,021 shares of the company's stock worth $148,190,000 after acquiring an additional 2,557,906 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Upbound Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,028,224 shares of the company's stock worth $64,883,000 after purchasing an additional 43,814 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Upbound Group by 3.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 914,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,240,000 after purchasing an additional 33,167 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Upbound Group by 2.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 761,765 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,386,000 after purchasing an additional 15,219 shares during the period. Finally, Huber Capital Management LLC increased its position in Upbound Group by 51.4% in the second quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 745,299 shares of the company's stock worth $22,881,000 after buying an additional 253,104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.30% of the company's stock.

Upbound Group Price Performance

UPBD traded down $0.59 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $31.70. 319,968 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 445,729. The company has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.08 and a beta of 2.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 3.66. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.50 and a 12-month high of $38.72. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.78.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. Upbound Group had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 34.15%. Upbound Group's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 3.8 EPS for the current year.

Upbound Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given 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 dividend yield of 4.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. Upbound Group's payout ratio is currently 102.07%.

Insider Activity at Upbound Group

In other Upbound Group news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 1,065 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $29.25 per share, for a total transaction of $31,151.25. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 85,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,493,094.50. This represents a 1.27 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPBD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Upbound Group from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stephens began coverage on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Upbound Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Upbound Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $39.17.

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.