BNP Paribas Financial Markets Boosts Stock Position in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Free Report) by 71.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,147 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 39,596 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.18% of Upbound Group worth $3,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in Upbound Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC bought a new position in Upbound Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Bramshill Investments LLC bought a new position in Upbound Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Upbound Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Upbound Group in the 4th quarter valued at $68,000. 90.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Upbound Group Price Performance

NASDAQ UPBD traded down $1.29 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $30.35. The company had a trading volume of 417,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 379,192. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.41. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.00 and a 52 week high of $36.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -65.98, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 3.49.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.02. Upbound Group had a positive return on equity of 33.40% and a negative net margin of 0.61%. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.88%. Upbound Group's dividend payout ratio is -321.74%.

Insider Activity at Upbound Group

In other Upbound Group news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 991 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $30.68 per share, for a total transaction of $30,403.88. Following the transaction, the director now owns 83,138 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,673.84. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Upbound Group news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 991 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $30.68 per share, for a total transaction of $30,403.88. Following the transaction, the director now owns 83,138 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,673.84. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Anthony J. Blasquez sold 12,485 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.18, for a total value of $414,252.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,967 shares in the company, valued at $1,956,525.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on UPBD shares. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Upbound Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. TD Cowen began coverage on Upbound Group in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $38.17.

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.