BNP Paribas Financial Markets Acquires 40,584 Shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Free Report) by 31.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 168,446 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 40,584 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.31% of Upbound Group worth $4,914,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UPBD. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 45.0% during the fourth 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. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,785 shares of the company's stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the fourth quarter worth $174,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the fourth quarter worth $221,000. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on UPBD shares. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Upbound Group from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $35.00 target price (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.60.

Upbound Group Trading Down 0.4%

Upbound Group stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $25.02. The stock had a trading volume of 277,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 508,166. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 1.77. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.69 and a 12 month high of $38.72. 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 (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.13 billion. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 35.47% and a net margin of 2.86%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 EPS for the current year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 2nd. Upbound Group's dividend payout ratio is 73.24%.

Insider Activity at Upbound Group

In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 21,730 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.75 per share, for a total transaction of $516,087.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 21,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $516,087.50. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Fahmi Karam bought 11,500 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $25.82 per share, for a total transaction of $296,930.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 164,672 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders have bought a total of 34,924 shares of company stock worth $846,711 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

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.