Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Holdings in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its position in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Free Report) by 33.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,072 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,842 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.11% of Upbound Group worth $1,694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Upbound Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in 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 last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Upbound Group by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,785 shares of the company's stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in Upbound Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $174,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Upbound Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.30% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Fahmi Karam purchased 11,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased 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 approximately $4,251,831.04. This trade represents a 7.51 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey J. Brown purchased 1,694 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.89 per share, with a total value of $33,693.66. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 88,074 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,751,791.86. This represents a 1.96 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

Shares of UPBD traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $20.54. 52,581 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 528,892. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 3.66 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 9.29 and a beta of 1.90. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $24.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.33. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.68 and a 52-week high of $38.72.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. Upbound Group had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 35.47%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.60%. Upbound Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 70.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Upbound Group from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Upbound Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.00.

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.