Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Purchases 616 Shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,498 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Upbound Group were worth $773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Upbound Group during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Upbound Group by 268.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 45.0% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in Upbound Group by 374.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 2,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Upbound Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $229,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Price Performance

Upbound Group stock opened at $24.92 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 3.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $29.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.59. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.88 and a 52 week high of $38.72.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last issued 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 business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 35.47% and a net margin of 2.86%. On average, equities analysts predict that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Upbound Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This is an increase from Upbound Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is 70.59%.

Insider Activity at Upbound Group

In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 1,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $29.01 per share, for a total transaction of $33,245.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 86,380 shares in the company, valued at $2,505,883.80. The trade was a 1.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on UPBD shares. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Upbound Group from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen upgraded Upbound Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Upbound Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.20.

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.