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

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)’s stock price 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 traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on UPBD shares. Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Upbound Group in a report 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 objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upbound Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.40.

Upbound Group Trading Down 4.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 3.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -65.83 and a beta of 2.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.20.

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

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.88%. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -321.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ralph T. Montrone sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,603.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown purchased 1,031 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $29.82 per share, with a total value of $30,744.42. Following the acquisition, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ralph T. Montrone sold 15,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,603.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Upbound Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Upbound Group by 232.0% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 1,146 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Upbound Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $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.