Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stock Position in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) by 29.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,791 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,372 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Upbound Group worth $963,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Upbound Group by 2,864.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 405,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,974,000 after acquiring an additional 391,888 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $606,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,217,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,968,000 after purchasing an additional 54,427 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 42.5% during 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. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 43,814 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 1,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $29.25 per share, for a total transaction of $31,151.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 85,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,493,094.50. This trade represents a 1.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Upbound Group Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of UPBD opened at $29.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14 and a beta of 2.03. Upbound Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.50 and a twelve month high of $38.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 3.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.62.

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

Upbound Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This is an increase from Upbound Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 107.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Upbound Group

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.