Panagora Asset Management Inc. Has $7.14 Million Stock Holdings in Upbound Group, Inc. $UPBD

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Upbound Group, Inc. by 71.5%, now holding 298,003 shares valued at approximately $7.14 million.
• Upbound Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.39 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.56 and a yield of 6.1%.
• Wall Street Zen upgraded Upbound Group's stock rating from "hold" to "buy," with a consensus price target of $34.50.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Free Report) by 71.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 298,003 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 124,229 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.52% of Upbound Group worth $7,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UPBD. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the first quarter valued at about $10,023,000. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc raised its stake in Upbound Group by 78.3% in the first quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 724,231 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,353,000 after purchasing an additional 318,060 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Upbound Group by 3.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,025,821 shares of the company's stock valued at $168,339,000 after purchasing an additional 244,746 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Upbound Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,201,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Upbound Group by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 559,120 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,310,000 after purchasing an additional 153,551 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Upbound Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.50.

Insider Transactions at Upbound Group

In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 1,653 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.90 per share, for a total transaction of $42,812.70. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 89,400 shares in the company, valued at $2,315,460. This trade represents a 1.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Upbound Group Price Performance

UPBD stock traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $25.40. The company had a trading volume of 665,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 587,236. The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27 and a beta of 1.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $24.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.09. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.65 and a 1-year high of $36.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 3.11 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.14 billion. Upbound Group had a net margin of 2.28% and a return on equity of 36.26%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. Upbound Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.050-4.40 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 0.950-1.05 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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.