Vestcor Inc Acquires New Shares in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Vestcor Inc bought a new position in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 5,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $174,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UPBD. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Upbound Group by 153.0% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 98,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,148,000 after buying an additional 59,526 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $329,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 94,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,011,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 1.7% in the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 102,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,711 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 288.6% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 95,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,071,000 after purchasing an additional 71,285 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UPBD opened at $24.18 on Wednesday. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.35 and a 12-month high of $38.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 2.01. The company has a current ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.99 and a 200 day moving average of $29.93.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 35.47% and a net margin of 2.86%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UPBD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen raised shares of Upbound Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Loop Capital cut 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. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 1,146 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $29.01 per share, with a total value of $33,245.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 86,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,505,883.80. This trade represents a 1.34 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Fahmi Karam bought 11,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.82 per share, for a total transaction of $296,930.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 164,672 shares in the company, valued at $4,251,831.04. This represents a 7.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

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.