Vident Advisory LLC Invests $480,000 in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 16,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $480,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 113,212 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 92,766 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 974,186 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,417,000 after purchasing an additional 60,139 shares during the period. Huber Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 856,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,974,000 after purchasing an additional 18,343 shares during the period. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 799,757 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,329,000 after purchasing an additional 105,380 shares during the period. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on UPBD. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $35.00 target price (down from $40.00) on shares of Upbound Group in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Upbound Group from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.60.

Upbound Group Price Performance

Shares of UPBD traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $23.05. The stock had a trading volume of 607,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 514,002. The company's 50-day moving average is $22.67 and its 200 day moving average is $27.06. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.69 and a 12-month high of $38.72. The company has a current ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The company has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 1.77.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 35.47% and a net margin of 2.86%. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 2nd. Upbound Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.24%.

Insider Activity

In other Upbound Group news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown purchased 21,730 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.75 per share, with a total value of $516,087.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $516,087.50. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Fahmi Karam purchased 11,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.82 per share, with a total value of $296,930.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 164,672 shares in the company, valued at $4,251,831.04. The trade was a 7.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 34,924 shares of company stock valued at $846,711. Insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

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.