Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Holdings in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,263 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,472 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Upbound Group worth $1,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPBD. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 171.9% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 267,618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,806,000 after purchasing an additional 169,197 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Upbound Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,883,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Upbound Group by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 559,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,310,000 after buying an additional 153,551 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the fourth quarter worth $4,328,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the 4th quarter valued at $3,922,000. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Upbound Group news, CFO Fahmi Karam acquired 11,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.82 per share, for a total transaction of $296,930.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 164,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,251,831.04. This trade represents a 7.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Stock Down 3.0 %

NASDAQ UPBD opened at $20.48 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 3.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. Upbound Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.08 and a fifty-two week high of $38.72. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $25.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.70. The stock has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 1.90.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. Upbound Group had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 35.47%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.62%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is 70.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, 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 research report on Friday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Upbound Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.00.

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.