Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Sells 19,378 Shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Free Report) by 42.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,799 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,378 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.'s holdings in Upbound Group were worth $825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 47.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,118 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 268.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,136 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 828 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the second quarter valued at about $89,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the third quarter valued at about $142,000. 90.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Upbound Group news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 1,065 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $29.25 per share, for a total transaction of $31,151.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 85,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,493,094.50. This trade represents a 1.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on UPBD shares. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Upbound Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Upbound Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Upbound Group from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Upbound Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $39.17.

Upbound Group Stock Down 1.7 %

UPBD traded down $0.57 on Tuesday, hitting $33.71. The company had a trading volume of 283,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 445,507. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 3.66 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.50 and a 52-week high of $38.72. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.25 and a beta of 2.03.

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

Upbound Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This is a positive change from Upbound Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.63%. Upbound Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 107.59%.

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.