Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Upbound Group, Inc. $UPBD

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has increased its stake in Upbound Group, owning approximately 12.15% of the company after acquiring an additional 244,746 shares in Q1.
• Upbound Group reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.12 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $1.05, alongside a 7.5% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.39 per share, representing a 6.5% yield, with a payout ratio of 87.64%.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,025,821 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 244,746 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.15% of Upbound Group worth $168,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Upbound Group by 59.9% during the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Upbound Group by 35.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Upbound Group by 64.3% during the first quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,623 shares of the company's stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 2,592 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Upbound Group during the first quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Upbound Group during the first quarter worth $204,000. 90.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Upbound Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $35.00 target price (down from $40.00) on shares of Upbound Group in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upbound Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.50.

Upbound Group Stock Up 0.3%

UPBD traded up $0.0640 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $25.2740. 13,074 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 583,013. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 3.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29. The business's 50 day moving average is $24.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.28. Upbound Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.65 and a fifty-two week high of $36.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.24 and a beta of 1.74.

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

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. Upbound Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 87.64%.

Insider Activity at Upbound Group

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 1,653 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.90 per share, for a total transaction of $42,812.70. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 89,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,315,460. This trade represents a 1.88% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.