Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) Shares Bought by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Upbound Group, Inc. by 36.8% in Q1, owning 243,915 shares valued at $5.84 million.
• Analysts set a new price target for Upbound Group, lowering it to $35.00 while maintaining an "outperform" rating, reflecting a consensus average target of $34.50.
• Upbound Group recently declared a dividend of $0.39 per share, marking a 6.22% dividend yield and indicating a payout ratio of 73.24%.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its stake in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Free Report) by 36.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 243,915 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 65,616 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.42% of Upbound Group worth $5,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Upbound Group by 5,179.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,196 shares of the company's stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 11,965 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Upbound Group by 1.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Upbound Group by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 138,447 shares of the company's stock worth $4,038,000 after purchasing an additional 4,555 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Upbound Group by 209.8% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 46,796 shares of the company's stock worth $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 31,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 47,670 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,391,000 after buying an additional 13,713 shares during the period. 90.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upbound Group

In other Upbound Group news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 1,653 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.90 per share, for a total transaction of $42,812.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 89,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,315,460. This trade represents a 1.88% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective (down from $40.00) on shares of Upbound Group in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.50.

Upbound Group Stock Down 13.4%

Shares of UPBD stock traded down $3.27 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $21.09. 613,919 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 554,558. The company has a current ratio of 3.12, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 9.76 and a beta of 1.74. The company's 50 day moving average is $24.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.18. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.68 and a 1 year high of $38.72.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.07. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 36.30% and a net margin of 2.74%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. Upbound Group's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 EPS for the current year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.40%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 17th. Upbound Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 73.24%.

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.