Victory Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Upbound Group by 4.5%, owning approximately 279,737 shares worth $6.7 million, following a purchase of an additional 12,119 shares.
• Raymond James Financial maintains an "outperform" rating for Upbound Group but has adjusted its target price down to $35.00 from $40.00, reflecting market adjustments.
• Upbound Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.39 per share, representing an annualized yield of 6.22%, with a payout ratio of 73.24%.

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 279,737 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,119 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.48% of Upbound Group worth $6,702,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Upbound Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,781,075 shares of the company's stock valued at $197,804,000 after buying an additional 113,212 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Upbound Group by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,328,229 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,913,000 after buying an additional 92,766 shares in the last quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 856,147 shares of the company's stock worth $24,974,000 after purchasing an additional 18,343 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 799,757 shares of the company's stock worth $23,329,000 after purchasing an additional 105,380 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 653,053 shares of the company's stock worth $19,050,000 after purchasing an additional 117,926 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.30% of the company's stock.

Upbound Group Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of UPBD stock traded down $0.10 on Friday, reaching $25.08. 494,089 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 575,938. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.68 and a 52 week high of $38.72. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 1.74. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $24.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.28.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.06. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 36.30% and a net margin of 2.74%. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. Upbound Group's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 EPS for the current year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. Upbound Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $35.00 target price (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 issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 1,653 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.90 per share, with a total value of $42,812.70. Following the transaction, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.