New York State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Stake in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its position in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 80,985 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,006 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Upbound Group were worth $2,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new stake in Upbound Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in Upbound Group during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Upbound Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Bramshill Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the third quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, CWM LLC bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UPBD opened at $31.11 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.12, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.93 and a 12-month high of $36.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $33.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -259.23, a P/E/G ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 2.01.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.04. Upbound Group had a positive return on equity of 32.65% and a negative net margin of 0.13%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $994.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 3rd will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.76%. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is -1,233.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upbound Group

In other news, EVP Anthony J. Blasquez sold 12,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.18, for a total value of $414,252.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,956,525.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on UPBD. Stephens raised shares of Upbound Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Upbound Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Upbound Group in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $38.17.

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.