Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 92,766 Shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Free Report) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,328,229 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 92,766 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 4.26% of Upbound Group worth $67,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Upbound Group in 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 valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted 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 period. Vestcor Inc bought a new position in Upbound Group during the fourth quarter worth $174,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Upbound Group in the third quarter worth $229,000. 90.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on UPBD. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $35.00 price target (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Friday. Loop Capital cut their target price on Upbound Group from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $36.60.

Insider Activity

In other Upbound Group news, CFO Fahmi Karam purchased 11,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.82 per share, with a total value of $296,930.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 164,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,251,831.04. This trade represents a 7.51 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 1,694 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.89 per share, with a total value of $33,693.66. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 88,074 shares in the company, valued at $1,751,791.86. This trade represents a 1.96 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

Shares of UPBD stock traded up $0.46 on Friday, hitting $24.16. 762,744 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 502,043. The firm's 50 day moving average is $23.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.94. Upbound Group, Inc. has a one year low of $19.69 and a one year high of $38.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 1.90. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Upbound Group had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 35.47%. Upbound Group's revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.46%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 2nd. Upbound Group's payout ratio is 70.59%.

Upbound Group Company 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.