Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 134,459 Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 134,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,922,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UPBD. Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Upbound Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $329,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 94,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,011,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 914,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,240,000 after purchasing an additional 33,167 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of Upbound Group by 26.8% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 118,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,776,000 after buying an additional 24,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the third quarter valued at about $2,117,000. 90.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UPBD. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Upbound Group from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen upgraded 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, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upbound Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ UPBD opened at $24.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.23 and a beta of 2.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 3.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. Upbound Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.35 and a twelve month high of $38.72. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.64.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 35.47% and a net margin of 2.86%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 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, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.29%. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.59%.

Insider Transactions at Upbound Group

In other Upbound Group news, CFO Fahmi Karam acquired 11,500 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $25.82 per share, with a total value of $296,930.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 164,672 shares in the company, valued at $4,251,831.04. This trade represents a 7.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 1,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $29.01 per share, for a total transaction of $33,245.46. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 86,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,505,883.80. The trade was a 1.34 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.