Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $5.49 Million Stake in Upbound Group, Inc. $UPBD

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) by 22.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 303,918 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 55,199 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Upbound Group were worth $5,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UPBD. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,132,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,246,000 after buying an additional 231,293 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Upbound Group by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,410,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,220,000 after acquiring an additional 246,146 shares during the last quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC increased its position in Upbound Group by 80.2% in the fourth quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 1,739,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,538,000 after purchasing an additional 773,775 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Upbound Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,315,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,103,000 after purchasing an additional 59,798 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Upbound Group by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,235,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,696,000 after purchasing an additional 91,245 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown purchased 2,295 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.09 per share, with a total value of $46,106.55. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 96,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,942,321.29. This represents a 2.43% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

Shares of UPBD stock opened at $21.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10 and a beta of 1.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.66 and a 200-day moving average of $19.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 3.06 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Upbound Group, Inc. has a one year low of $15.82 and a one year high of $28.02.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Upbound Group had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 35.56%. Upbound Group’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. Upbound Group has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.000-1.100 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000-4.350 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Upbound Group from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Upbound Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upbound Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.00.

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. It offers furniture comprising mattresses, tires, consumer electronics, appliances, tools, handbags, computers, smartphones, and accessories.