Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) to Issue $0.39 Quarterly Dividend

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, June 4th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of 0.39 per share on Tuesday, July 8th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.46%.

Upbound Group has raised its dividend payment by an average of 5.7% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 5 consecutive years. Upbound Group has a payout ratio of 30.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Upbound Group to earn $4.98 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.3%.

Upbound Group Price Performance

UPBD opened at $24.15 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 1.77. 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 has a 12-month low of $19.69 and a 12-month high of $38.72. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.96.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Upbound Group had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 35.47%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Upbound Group will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective (down from $40.00) on shares of Upbound Group in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Upbound Group from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 1,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.89 per share, with a total value of $33,693.66. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 88,074 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,751,791.86. This represents a 1.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Fahmi Karam bought 11,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.82 per share, with a total value of $296,930.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 164,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,251,831.04. The trade was a 7.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 34,924 shares of company stock worth $846,711. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upbound Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Upbound Group by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $764,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Upbound Group by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 48,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,157,000 after acquiring an additional 6,623 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Upbound Group by 286.3% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 86,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,071,000 after purchasing an additional 64,073 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 73.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 532,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,766,000 after purchasing an additional 224,811 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Company 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.