Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.39

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, December 4th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a dividend of 0.39 per share on Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This is a boost from Upbound Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37.

Upbound Group has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 1.9% annually over the last three years. Upbound Group has a payout ratio of 35.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Upbound Group to earn $4.41 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.4%.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UPBD opened at $31.85 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97 and a beta of 2.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 3.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. Upbound Group has a 52 week low of $26.50 and a 52 week high of $38.72. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.77.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 34.15% and a net margin of 1.91%. Upbound Group’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Upbound Group will post 3.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on UPBD. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Upbound Group from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stephens initiated coverage on Upbound Group in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen raised Upbound Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Upbound Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Upbound Group news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 1,065 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $29.25 per share, with a total value of $31,151.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 85,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,493,094.50. This represents a 1.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.