Nuveen Asset Management LLC Sells 134,532 Shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) by 19.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 548,896 shares of the company’s stock after selling 134,532 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 1.00% of Upbound Group worth $16,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mork Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Upbound Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $998,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Upbound Group by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 30,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $890,000 after buying an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP grew its position in Upbound Group by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 65,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,921,000 after buying an additional 11,781 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in Upbound Group by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 42,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 3,640 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Upbound Group by 40.4% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 47,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 13,713 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UPBD. Loop Capital cut their target price 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. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 target price (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Upbound Group in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Upbound Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.60.

Upbound Group Price Performance

UPBD stock opened at $22.88 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $22.86 and a 200-day moving average of $27.41. The company has a current ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.69 and a 12 month high of $38.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.35 and a beta of 1.77.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.06. Upbound Group had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 35.47%. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. Upbound Group’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.82%. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.24%.

Insider Activity at Upbound Group

In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 21,730 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.75 per share, with a total value of $516,087.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $516,087.50. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Fahmi Karam bought 11,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.82 per share, for a total transaction of $296,930.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 164,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,251,831.04. This represents a 7.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 34,924 shares of company stock valued at $846,711 over the last three months. 2.70% 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.