Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 22,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $758,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in Upbound Group during the third quarter worth $29,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Upbound Group during the third quarter worth $32,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Upbound Group during the third quarter worth $38,000. Bramshill Investments LLC acquired a new position in Upbound Group during the third quarter worth $43,000. Finally, CWM LLC acquired a new position in Upbound Group during the third quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Price Performance

UPBD opened at $32.41 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $33.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.83. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.00 and a 12-month high of $36.17. The company has a current ratio of 3.12, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33. The firm has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -270.06, a PEG ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 2.01.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $994.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. Upbound Group’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.57%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 2nd. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is -1,233.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on UPBD. KeyCorp increased their price target on Upbound Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Stephens upgraded Upbound Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Upbound Group in a report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Upbound Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $38.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Anthony J. Blasquez sold 12,485 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.18, for a total transaction of $414,252.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,956,525.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Upbound Group news, EVP Anthony J. Blasquez sold 12,485 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.18, for a total value of $414,252.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,956,525.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey J. Brown purchased 991 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $30.68 per share, for a total transaction of $30,403.88. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 83,138 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,673.84. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.