Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Stock Price Down 12.8% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Upbound Group's shares fell 12.8% on Thursday, trading as low as $21.50 and closing at $21.24, significantly below the previous close of $24.36.
• Raymond James Financial revised its target price for Upbound Group, now set at $35.00, down from $40.00, while two analysts rate it a buy, and one a strong buy.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.39 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 7.5%, with a payout ratio of 73.24%.

Shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) traded down 12.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $21.50 and last traded at $21.24. 280,159 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 552,007 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.36.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $35.00 price target (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Upbound Group in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Upbound Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.50.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 1.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $24.78 and a 200 day moving average of $25.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 3.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 36.26% and a net margin of 2.28%. Upbound Group's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.4%. Upbound Group's payout ratio is presently 87.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Upbound Group news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 21,730 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $23.75 per share, with a total value of $516,087.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 21,730 shares in the company, valued at $516,087.50. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UPBD. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in Upbound Group by 59.9% during the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in Upbound Group by 35.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 414.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,617 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 179.4% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 2,512 shares during the period. Finally, Palouse Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 64.3% in the first quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 2,592 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.30% of the company's stock.

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.