One Way Holdings LLC Makes New Investment in Upbound Group, Inc. $UPBD

One Way Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 357,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,610,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPBD. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Upbound Group in the second quarter valued at $194,216,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Upbound Group by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,394,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,227,000 after purchasing an additional 327,203 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Upbound Group during the 2nd quarter worth $37,565,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the second quarter valued at about $18,862,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the first quarter worth about $7,455,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UPBD opened at $20.70 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $17.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.98 and a 1-year high of $23.98. The company has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 1.79.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.10. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 33.81% and a net margin of 2.36%. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. Upbound Group’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.5%. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is presently 82.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UPBD shares. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Upbound Group from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. BTIG Research lowered Upbound Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research raised shares of Upbound Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Upbound Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Upbound Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Anthony J. Blasquez sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.85, for a total transaction of $188,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $824,065.45. This represents a 18.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 2,764 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.01 per share, with a total value of $47,015.64. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 98,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,682,254.98. This trade represents a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

About Upbound Group

Upbound Group, Inc is a provider of consumer leasing and retail solutions, operating primarily through its Rent-A-Center and Acima brands. The company enables customers to obtain merchandise through flexible lease-to-own agreements and related payment options, serving consumers who may prefer alternatives to traditional retail financing.

Its Rent-A-Center business operates company-owned and franchised locations, as well as digital channels, offering furniture, appliances, electronics, computers, smartphones and other household goods.