JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 192,674 Shares of Upbound Group, Inc. $UPBD

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) by 259.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 267,062 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 192,674 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Upbound Group were worth $6,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Caxton Associates LLP lifted its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 62,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,473,000 after acquiring an additional 18,140 shares during the last quarter. Sender Co & Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $204,000. Optimist Retirement Group LLC boosted its holdings in Upbound Group by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 10,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 1,653 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Upbound Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $130,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Upbound Group news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 2,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.68 per share, for a total transaction of $44,235.36. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 92,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,643,744.96. The trade was a 2.77% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on UPBD shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Upbound Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research cut shares of Upbound Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.25.

Upbound Group Trading Up 0.2%

UPBD opened at $18.05 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $19.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 1.81. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.82 and a 52 week high of $28.02.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.04. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 35.23% and a net margin of 1.56%.The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Upbound Group has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.050-1.150 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000-4.350 EPS. Analysts forecast that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 7th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 7th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.6%. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio is 125.81%.

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