Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) Position Boosted by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) by 135.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 103,978 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,746 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Upbound Group were worth $3,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Upbound Group by 374.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 2,590 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 12.8% during 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. Finally, Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the 4th quarter valued at $174,000. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Upbound Group Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of Upbound Group stock opened at $24.80 on Wednesday. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.35 and a 1 year high of $38.72. The company has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 2.01. The company has a current ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.67.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.59%.

Insider Transactions at Upbound Group

In other Upbound Group news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 1,146 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $29.01 per share, with a total value of $33,245.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 86,380 shares in the company, valued at $2,505,883.80. The trade was a 1.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Fahmi Karam bought 11,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.82 per share, with a total value of $296,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 164,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,251,831.04. This represents a 7.51 % 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 company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on UPBD. TD Cowen upgraded Upbound Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Upbound Group from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Upbound Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.