Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) Declares $0.39 Quarterly Dividend

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, June 4th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a dividend of 0.39 per share on Tuesday, July 8th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.46%.

Upbound Group has increased its dividend by an average of 5.7% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 5 consecutive years. Upbound Group has a dividend payout ratio of 30.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Upbound Group to earn $4.98 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 31.3%.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

UPBD opened at $24.15 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 3.66 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.96. Upbound Group has a 1-year low of $19.69 and a 1-year high of $38.72.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Upbound Group will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Upbound Group

In other Upbound Group news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown purchased 1,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.89 per share, with a total value of $33,693.66. Following the purchase, the director now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Fahmi Karam acquired 11,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.82 per share, with a total value of $296,930.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 34,924 shares of company stock worth $846,711. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upbound Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 73.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 532,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,766,000 after purchasing an additional 224,811 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Upbound Group by 286.3% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 86,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,071,000 after buying an additional 64,073 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Upbound Group by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 48,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,157,000 after buying an additional 6,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Upbound Group by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $764,000 after buying an additional 1,376 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on UPBD. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Upbound Group in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Upbound Group from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Upbound Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.60.

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.