Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Free Report) by 7.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 255,244 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 17,237 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.44% of Upbound Group worth $6,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $174,000. Palouse Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 64.3% in the 1st quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 2,592 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $221,000. Finally, Crestline Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $230,000. Institutional investors own 90.30% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upbound Group

In other Upbound Group news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 1,653 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.90 per share, for a total transaction of $42,812.70. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 89,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,315,460. The trade was a 1.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have acquired a total of 25,077 shares of company stock valued at $592,594 in the last quarter. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Raymond James Financial restated 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, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.50.

Upbound Group Stock Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:UPBD traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $24.43. 484,255 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 534,133. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.69 and a 12-month high of $38.72. The business has a 50-day moving average of $24.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 3.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 1.74.

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

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.39%. Upbound Group's payout ratio is currently 73.24%.

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.