JPMorgan Chase & Co. Acquires 53,173 Shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) by 29.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 235,570 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 53,173 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.43% of Upbound Group worth $6,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UPBD. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Upbound Group by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc bought a new position in Upbound Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $174,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the third quarter worth approximately $229,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:UPBD opened at $20.37 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $24.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.65. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.06 and a 52 week high of $38.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 9.22 and a beta of 1.90. 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 (NASDAQ:UPBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 35.47% and a net margin of 2.86%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.66%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is currently 70.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Loop Capital decreased their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upbound Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Fahmi Karam purchased 11,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

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.