Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Sees Large Volume Increase After Dividend Announcement

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. 1,330,621 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 208% from the previous session’s volume of 431,752 shares.The stock last traded at $31.19 and had previously closed at $30.69.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is currently -321.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Upbound Group Trading Down 2.4 %

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $32.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -65.93 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a current ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Upbound Group had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 32.94%. Upbound Group’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Transient C. Taylor sold 15,127 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.00, for a total value of $514,318.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $498,134. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Upbound Group news, EVP Ralph T. Montrone sold 15,000 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.48, for a total value of $487,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,603.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Transient C. Taylor sold 15,127 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.00, for a total value of $514,318.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $498,134. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Upbound Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 3.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,005,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,453,000 after acquiring an additional 209,422 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Upbound Group by 112.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 4,827,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,190,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557,906 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Upbound Group by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,148,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,981,000 after purchasing an additional 62,832 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 43.0% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,693,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,635,000 after buying an additional 509,343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Upbound Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 761,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,386,000 after buying an additional 15,219 shares during the last quarter. 90.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.