7,158 Shares in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) Purchased by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UPBD. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 47.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Upbound Group by 268.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the 2nd quarter worth $89,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 374.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 2,590 shares in the last quarter. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 1,065 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $29.25 per share, for a total transaction of $31,151.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 85,234 shares in the company, valued at $2,493,094.50. This trade represents a 1.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

Shares of UPBD opened at $31.70 on Wednesday. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.50 and a 1 year high of $38.72. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.78. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.08 and a beta of 2.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 3.66.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 34.15% and a net margin of 1.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 3.8 EPS for the current year.

Upbound Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This is a boost from Upbound Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.92%. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is 102.07%.

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.