Blue Trust Inc. Trims Position in Upbound Group, Inc. $UPBD

Blue Trust Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) by 27.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,292 shares of the company’s stock after selling 492 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Upbound Group were worth $32,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Upbound Group by 59.9% during the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 35.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 3.9% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 14,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 2.6% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 24,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 2.5% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 28,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Upbound Group

In other news, EVP Ralph T. Montrone sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.23, for a total value of $151,380.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 49,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,239,373.29. This represents a 10.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of UPBD opened at $21.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.22 and a beta of 1.77. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 3.11 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.65 and a 1 year high of $36.00.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.07. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 36.26% and a net margin of 2.28%.The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Upbound Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.050-4.40 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 0.950-1.05 EPS. On average, analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Tuesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.2%. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio is 87.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPBD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Loop Capital raised Upbound Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, September 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered Upbound Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Upbound Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.25.

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.