Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Lowered to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upbound Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.33.

Upbound Group Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ UPBD opened at $21.22 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.84 and a beta of 1.80. Upbound Group has a 52 week low of $15.82 and a 52 week high of $28.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $18.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 3.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last issued its earnings results 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. Upbound Group had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 35.56%. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Upbound Group will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.4%. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is presently 109.09%.

Insider Transactions at Upbound Group

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown purchased 2,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.41 per share, with a total value of $45,205.89. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 94,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,840,844.40. This trade represents a 2.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upbound Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 259.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 267,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,311,000 after purchasing an additional 192,674 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the fourth quarter valued at $1,332,000. Western Standard LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the fourth quarter valued at $1,756,000. Huber Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Upbound Group by 67.9% in the third quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 965,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,809,000 after purchasing an additional 390,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Upbound Group by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,132,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,246,000 after purchasing an additional 231,293 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

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.