Saxon Interests Inc. Buys Shares of 5,905 Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Saxon Interests Inc. purchased a new stake in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the second quarter worth about $2,057,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the third quarter worth about $231,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the third quarter worth $79,000. CWM LLC bought a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the third quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $333,000. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Anthony J. Blasquez sold 12,485 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,956,525.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Anthony J. Blasquez sold 12,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.18, for a total value of $414,252.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,956,525.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 912 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $32.94 per share, with a total value of $30,041.28. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 82,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,705,922.18. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Upbound Group Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of UPBD traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $35.21. 409,198 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 376,385. 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 52 week low of $22.50 and a 52 week high of $36.17. The company’s 50 day moving average is $33.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.38. The company has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -293.39, a PEG ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 2.01.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $994.27 million. Upbound Group had a negative net margin of 0.13% and a positive return on equity of 32.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,233.23%.

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.