Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Hits New 1-Year High After Insider Buying Activity

Key Points

• Upbound Group shares hit a 52-week high of $25.29, rising about 2% after several insiders bought shares, including CEO Fahmi Karam and EVP Scott A. Young.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $1.01 versus $0.91 expected and revenue of $1.15 billion versus $1.12 billion; revenue was down 1.3% year over year.
• Analysts have a consensus Hold rating and a $27 average price target. Upbound also offers a $1.56 annualized dividend, a yield of about 6.2%.

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider buying activity. The stock traded as high as $25.29 and last traded at $25.20, with a volume of 825,584 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.66.

Specifically, EVP Scott A. Young bought 6,015 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $24.95 per share, with a total value of $150,074.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,015 shares of the company's stock, valued at $150,074.25. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fahmi Karam purchased 12,165 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $24.66 per share, for a total transaction of $299,988.90. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,684,758.82. This trade represents a 4.70% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In other news, CEO Fahmi Karam bought 4,407 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $22.71 per share, for a total transaction of $100,082.97. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 258,912 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,879,891.52. This trade represents a 1.73% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPBD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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 note on Friday, October 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Upbound Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Upbound Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. BTIG Research downgraded Upbound Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $28.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Upbound Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Upbound Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.00.

Upbound Group Trading Up 2.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 3.17. The company's fifty day moving average is $17.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.03. The company has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.23 and a beta of 1.80.

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

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. Upbound Group's dividend payout ratio is 82.11%.

Institutional Trading of Upbound Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UPBD. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Upbound Group in the second quarter worth approximately $194,216,000. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Upbound Group in the second quarter valued at $37,565,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $18,862,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,683,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the 1st quarter worth $7,455,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.30% of the company's stock.

About Upbound Group

Upbound Group, Inc. provides lease-to-own and retail services through brands including Rent-A-Center and Acima. Its offerings let customers obtain merchandise through flexible payment arrangements, with the option to own items after completing the required payments. The company's products include furniture, appliances, electronics, computers and smartphones. Rent-A-Center serves customers through company-operated stores and franchise locations, while Acima provides lease-to-own options through participating retail partners and online channels.

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