Mork Capital Management LLC Purchases New Stake in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Mork Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 34,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $998,000. Mork Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Upbound Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,271 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Upbound Group by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,785 shares of the company's stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc purchased a new stake in Upbound Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $174,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Upbound Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.30% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Fahmi Karam acquired 11,500 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average price 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. This represents a 7.51% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 21,730 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $23.75 per share, with a total value of $516,087.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $516,087.50. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 34,924 shares of company stock worth $846,711. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

Shares of UPBD stock traded up $0.25 on Friday, hitting $25.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 369,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 508,025. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 3.66. The stock's 50 day moving average is $22.88 and its 200-day moving average is $27.68. Upbound Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.69 and a fifty-two week high of $38.72. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 1.77.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. Upbound Group had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 35.47%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. Equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.21%. Upbound Group's payout ratio is 73.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $35.00 price target (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Upbound Group in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Upbound Group from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.60.

Upbound Group Profile

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.