Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 54,427 Shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,217,880 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,427 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.23% of Upbound Group worth $38,968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Upbound Group by 2,864.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 405,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,974,000 after purchasing an additional 391,888 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC bought a new position in Upbound Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $606,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Upbound Group by 42.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 316,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,116,000 after buying an additional 94,333 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Upbound Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,028,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,883,000 after acquiring an additional 43,814 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 153.0% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 98,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,148,000 after acquiring an additional 59,526 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Price Performance

UPBD stock opened at $29.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59 and a beta of 2.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $31.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.69. The company has a current ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.50 and a 12-month high of $38.72.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 34.15% and a net margin of 1.91%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 3.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Upbound Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This is an increase from Upbound Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.23%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is presently 107.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown purchased 1,065 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $29.25 per share, for a total transaction of $31,151.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 85,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,493,094.50. This represents a 1.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.70% 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.