Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) saw a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,360,000 shares, an increase of 18.0% from the September 30th total of 2,000,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 587,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days. Currently, 4.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on UPBD shares. Loop Capital restated a “hold” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Upbound Group in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Upbound Group from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ralph T. Montrone sold 15,000 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.48, for a total value of $487,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,074 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,603.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Ralph T. Montrone sold 15,000 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.48, for a total value of $487,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,074 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,603.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey J. Brown purchased 1,065 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $29.25 per share, with a total value of $31,151.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 85,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,493,094.50. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Upbound Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 80,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,578,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC bought a new position in Upbound Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $200,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in Upbound Group by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 27,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,472 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in Upbound Group by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Upbound Group by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Price Performance

Shares of UPBD traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $27.08. The stock had a trading volume of 362,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 451,300. The company’s 50-day moving average is $30.66 and its 200 day moving average is $31.55. Upbound Group has a 12-month low of $25.17 and a 12-month high of $38.72. The company has a current ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.61 and a beta of 2.00.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.01. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 1.31%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. Upbound Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Upbound Group will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is 151.02%.

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.