KBC Group NV Sells 17,227 Shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

KBC Group NV reduced its stake in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Free Report) by 87.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,454 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,227 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Upbound Group were worth $59,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UPBD. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 5,179.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,196 shares of the company's stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 11,965 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the 4th quarter worth about $3,922,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,781,075 shares of the company's stock worth $197,804,000 after buying an additional 113,212 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 138,447 shares of the company's stock worth $4,038,000 after buying an additional 4,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 209.8% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 46,796 shares of the company's stock worth $1,121,000 after buying an additional 31,693 shares during the last quarter. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Upbound Group Trading Down 2.3%

NASDAQ:UPBD traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $26.22. 453,070 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 536,351. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 1.74. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.69 and a 52 week high of $38.72. The firm's 50 day moving average is $24.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 3.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. Upbound Group had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 36.30%. The firm's revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.95%. Upbound Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 73.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $35.00 target price (down from $40.00) on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 21,730 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.75 per share, for a total transaction of $516,087.50. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 21,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $516,087.50. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 25,077 shares of company stock valued at $592,594. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.