TrueMark Investments LLC Buys New Shares in Upbound Group, Inc. $UPBD

TrueMark Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 205,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,863,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 517.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 4,535,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,831,000 after purchasing an additional 3,801,043 shares during the period. Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in Upbound Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $18,961,000. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in Upbound Group by 20.9% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,041,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,240,000 after buying an additional 352,264 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 73.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 532,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,766,000 after buying an additional 224,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Upbound Group by 189.3% during the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 325,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,171,000 after buying an additional 213,030 shares during the period. 90.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPBD has been the topic of a number of research reports. BTIG Research dropped their target price on shares of Upbound Group from $40.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Upbound Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Upbound Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Upbound Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 2,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.68 per share, with a total value of $44,235.36. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 92,972 shares in the company, valued at $1,643,744.96. This represents a 2.77% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

Shares of UPBD opened at $19.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30 and a beta of 1.85. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.82 and a 52 week high of $30.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $18.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 3.16.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 36.08% and a net margin of 1.85%.The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Upbound Group’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Upbound Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.050-4.150 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 17th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.1%. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 107.59%.

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. It offers furniture comprising mattresses, tires, consumer electronics, appliances, tools, handbags, computers, smartphones, and accessories.