Millennium Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Millennium Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Free Report) by 77.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,863 shares of the company's stock after selling 153,927 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Upbound Group worth $1,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Upbound Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Upbound Group by 45.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,271 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 705 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $110,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in Upbound Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $174,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in Upbound Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $221,000. 90.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Upbound Group news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 21,730 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $23.75 per share, with a total value of $516,087.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $516,087.50. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Fahmi Karam bought 11,500 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 164,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,251,831.04. This represents a 7.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 34,924 shares of company stock valued at $846,711 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UPBD. Loop Capital dropped their price target 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. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective (down from $40.00) on shares of Upbound Group in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $36.60.

Upbound Group Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of Upbound Group stock traded up $0.33 on Thursday, hitting $24.48. The company had a trading volume of 453,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 515,266. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 1.77. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.69 and a 1 year high of $38.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.64 and a 200-day moving average of $26.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 3.66.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 35.47% and a net margin of 2.86%. Upbound Group's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. Upbound Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 73.24%.

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.