Citigroup Inc. Grows Position in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,042 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 24,983 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Upbound Group were worth $3,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted 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 purchasing an additional 828 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Upbound Group in the third quarter worth $142,000. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 1,065 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $29.25 per share, with a total value of $31,151.25. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 85,234 shares in the company, valued at $2,493,094.50. The trade was a 1.27 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on UPBD. Stephens started coverage on Upbound Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen upgraded Upbound Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Upbound Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Upbound Group from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.17.

Upbound Group Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:UPBD opened at $34.24 on Wednesday. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.50 and a 52-week high of $38.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 3.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61 and a beta of 2.03. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.64.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 34.15% and a net margin of 1.91%. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.32%. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 102.07%.

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.