Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Shares Gap Down to $31.99

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $31.99, but opened at $31.14. Upbound Group shares last traded at $30.44, with a volume of 42,069 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on UPBD shares. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Upbound Group from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.40.

Upbound Group Stock Down 4.1 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $32.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.20. The company has a current ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The stock has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -65.83 and a beta of 2.00.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.01. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 1.31%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.88%. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is -321.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Upbound Group news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown purchased 1,031 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $29.82 per share, with a total value of $30,744.42. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 84,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,509,919.58. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Ralph T. Montrone sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.48, for a total transaction of $487,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,074 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,603.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey J. Brown purchased 1,031 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $29.82 per share, for a total transaction of $30,744.42. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 84,169 shares in the company, valued at $2,509,919.58. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Upbound Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Upbound Group during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Upbound Group by 47.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 232.0% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the second quarter worth about $89,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.