Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $19.90, but opened at $22.39. Upbound Group shares last traded at $22.92, with a volume of 99,067 shares traded.

The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 35.47% and a net margin of 2.86%. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 EPS.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.46%. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UPBD. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Upbound Group from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective (down from $40.00) on shares of Upbound Group in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.60.

Insider Transactions at Upbound Group

In related news, CFO Fahmi Karam bought 11,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 164,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,251,831.04. This represents a 7.51 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey J. Brown purchased 1,694 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.89 per share, with a total value of $33,693.66. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 88,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,751,791.86. The trade was a 1.96 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upbound Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Upbound Group during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 59.9% during the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 35.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Upbound Group by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in 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 buying an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 1.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 3.66.

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.