Kennedy Capital Management LLC Purchases 79,988 Shares of Upbound Group, Inc. $UPBD

Key Points

• Kennedy Capital Management increased its stake in Upbound Group by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 79,988 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 672,289 shares worth about $11.8 million.
• Several other institutional investors also added to their positions, and institutional ownership now stands at 90.30% of Upbound Group’s stock.
• Upbound Group reported quarterly EPS of $1.08, slightly above estimates, and reaffirmed guidance for fiscal 2026. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.39 per share, implying an annualized yield of 8.2%.

Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Free Report) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 672,289 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 79,988 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.16% of Upbound Group worth $11,805,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Upbound Group by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,132,443 shares of the company's stock valued at $125,246,000 after buying an additional 231,293 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Upbound Group by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,410,524 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,220,000 after buying an additional 246,146 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Upbound Group by 60.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,255,874 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,676,000 after buying an additional 472,550 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Upbound Group by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,235,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,696,000 after buying an additional 91,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bragg Financial Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Upbound Group by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 1,105,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,405,000 after buying an additional 119,158 shares during the last quarter. 90.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPBD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Upbound Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Zacks Research raised Upbound Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Upbound Group in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 2,329 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.41 per share, for a total transaction of $45,205.89. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 94,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,840,844.40. This trade represents a 2.52% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

UPBD opened at $18.94 on Monday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $18.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.86. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.24 and a beta of 1.81. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.82 and a 52 week high of $28.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 3.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 35.56% and a net margin of 1.78%.Upbound Group's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. Upbound Group has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.000-1.100 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000-4.350 EPS. Analysts forecast that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Upbound Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.09%.

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

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding UPBD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.