Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Shares Up 9.2% on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) traded up 9.2% during trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $29.76 and last traded at $29.56. 99,380 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 448,387 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.08.

The company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Upbound Group had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.02%. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is 151.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Upbound Group from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Loop Capital cut their target price on Upbound Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Transient C. Taylor sold 15,127 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.00, for a total transaction of $514,318.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $498,134. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Transient C. Taylor sold 15,127 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.00, for a total value of $514,318.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,651 shares in the company, valued at $498,134. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ralph T. Montrone sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.48, for a total transaction of $487,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,603.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CoreCap Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Upbound Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $606,000. Interval Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 155.1% during the first quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 96,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,385,000 after buying an additional 58,442 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 78.4% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 137,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,825,000 after buying an additional 60,203 shares in the last quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC raised its position in Upbound Group by 36,691.7% in the 1st quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 30,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,088,000 after buying an additional 30,821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Upbound Group by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,005,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,453,000 after acquiring an additional 209,422 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.06 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.43. The company has a current ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21.

Upbound Group Company 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.