MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $957,000 Position in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 32,816 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,809 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Upbound Group were worth $957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UPBD. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Upbound Group by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 705 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Upbound Group by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the 4th quarter worth about $174,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $229,000. Institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at Upbound Group

In related news, CFO Fahmi Karam purchased 11,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased 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 directly owns 164,672 shares in the company, valued at $4,251,831.04. This trade represents a 7.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 1,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.89 per share, for a total transaction of $33,693.66. Following the purchase, the director now owns 88,074 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,751,791.86. This represents a 1.96 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

Shares of UPBD opened at $24.16 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $23.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price 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. Upbound Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.69 and a twelve month high of $38.72. The firm has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 1.90.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.06. The firm 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 company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 2nd. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.59%.

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.