Northern Trust Corp Purchases 117,926 Shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Free Report) by 22.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 653,053 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 117,926 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.19% of Upbound Group worth $19,050,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc bought a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $174,000. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 7,991 shares of the company's stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.30% of the company's stock.

Upbound Group Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:UPBD traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $25.11. The stock had a trading volume of 369,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 508,025. The firm has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 1.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.68. The company has a current ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. Upbound Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.69 and a twelve month high of $38.72.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.06. The business 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%. Upbound Group's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 was Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.21%. Upbound Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Upbound Group news, CFO Fahmi Karam acquired 11,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.82 per share, for a total transaction of $296,930.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 164,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,251,831.04. This trade represents a 7.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 1,694 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.89 per share, for a total transaction of $33,693.66. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 88,074 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,751,791.86. The trade was a 1.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 34,924 shares of company stock worth $846,711. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPBD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Loop Capital reduced their target price 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. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $35.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of Upbound Group in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.