SG Americas Securities LLC Increases Position in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Free Report) by 240.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,103 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,663 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Upbound Group were worth $441,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Upbound Group by 26.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 11,090 shares of the company's stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 2,298 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Upbound Group by 5.3% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 26,123 shares of the company's stock valued at $802,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Upbound Group during the second quarter worth approximately $257,000. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Upbound Group by 12.7% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 12,980 shares of the company's stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,466 shares during the period. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $192,000. 90.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on UPBD. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Upbound Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stephens assumed coverage on Upbound Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Upbound Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Upbound Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $39.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown purchased 1,146 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $29.01 per share, with a total value of $33,245.46. Following the transaction, the director now owns 86,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,505,883.80. The trade was a 1.34 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Upbound Group Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:UPBD opened at $29.34 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.23 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 3.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.50 and a 52-week high of $38.72.

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

Upbound Group Increases Dividend

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

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.

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