Prudential Financial Inc. Reduces Position in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,162 shares of the company’s stock after selling 509 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.09% of Upbound Group worth $1,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Upbound Group from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Upbound Group news, CFO Fahmi Karam purchased 11,500 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.82 per share, with a total value of $296,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 164,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,251,831.04. This trade represents a 7.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 1,146 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $29.01 per share, with a total value of $33,245.46. Following the purchase, the director now owns 86,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,505,883.80. This trade represents 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 Stock Performance

NASDAQ UPBD opened at $21.98 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.30. The company has a current ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 9.95 and a beta of 2.01. Upbound Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.45 and a twelve month high of $38.72.

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

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.10%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is 70.59%.

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.