Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 53,991 Shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) by 524.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,282 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,991 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.12% of Upbound Group worth $1,875,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Upbound Group by 45.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 374.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 2,590 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestcor Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the fourth quarter worth $174,000. 90.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Upbound Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UPBD opened at $25.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 2.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $27.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.71. The company has a current ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.35 and a 1-year high of $38.72.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 35.47% and a net margin of 2.86%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.15%. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Upbound Group news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown purchased 1,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $29.01 per share, with a total value of $33,245.46. Following the transaction, the director now owns 86,380 shares in the company, valued at $2,505,883.80. The trade was a 1.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Fahmi Karam purchased 11,500 shares of the business’s 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 purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 164,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,251,831.04. The trade was a 7.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPBD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen raised shares of Upbound Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Upbound Group from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.00.

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.