Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Stock: Insider Rebecca Wooters Purchases 4,325 Shares

Key Points

• EVP Rebecca Wooters bought 4,325 Upbound shares at an average $23 each, investing $99,475 and increasing her holdings by 24.15% to 22,235 shares. The purchase was among six insiders’ buys totaling about $1.24 million over November 2–3.
• Upbound reported quarterly EPS of $1.01, topping the $0.91 consensus, and revenue of $1.15 billion, above estimates but down 1.3% year over year.
• Shares rose 7.5% to $24.14 in Wednesday trading. Analysts’ consensus rating was Hold, with a $27 average price target; the company’s annualized dividend yield was 6.5%.

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) EVP Rebecca Wooters bought 4,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $23.00 per share, for a total transaction of $99,475.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 22,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $511,405. The trade was a 24.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Upbound Group Trading Up 7.5%

Upbound Group stock traded up $1.68 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.14. 1,834,246 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 944,464. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a current ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $17.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.91. Upbound Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.98 and a fifty-two week high of $24.30.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 33.81% and a net margin of 2.36%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 6th. Upbound Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Upbound Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Wall Street Zen cut Upbound Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Upbound Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. BTIG Research cut Upbound Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $28.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Upbound Group from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Upbound Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.00.

Key Headlines Impacting Upbound Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Upbound Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Six insiders bought shares on November 2–3: directors Molly Langenstein, Jeffrey Brown and Glenn P. Marino, and EVPs Balaji Kumar, Rebecca Wooters and Halim Khouri. Their purchases totaled about $1.24 million; several increased their individual holdings by double-digit percentages. SEC filing SEC filing SEC filing SEC filing SEC filing SEC filing
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks described UPBD as a potential long-term growth stock based on its Style Scores, offering a favorable characterization, though the article entry provides no specific forecasts or new company results. Zacks article
• Negative Sentiment: A recent report said Upbound’s consensus price target fell 22.36% to MX$410.79, signaling weaker analyst expectations; the cited figure is in Mexican pesos. Price target report

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upbound Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UPBD. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Upbound Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $194,216,000. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the 2nd quarter worth $37,565,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the second quarter worth $18,862,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the first quarter worth $7,455,000. Finally, One Way Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the third quarter valued at $5,610,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.30% of the company's stock.

Upbound Group Company Profile

Upbound Group, Inc is a provider of consumer leasing and retail solutions, operating primarily through its Rent-A-Center and Acima brands. The company enables customers to obtain merchandise through flexible lease-to-own agreements and related payment options, serving consumers who may prefer alternatives to traditional retail financing.

Its Rent-A-Center business operates company-owned and franchised locations, as well as digital channels, offering furniture, appliances, electronics, computers, smartphones and other household goods.

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