Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Upgraded to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

UPBD has been the subject of several other reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Upbound Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. BTIG Research cut Upbound Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings cut Upbound Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Upbound Group from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upbound Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.00.

Upbound Group Price Performance

Shares of UPBD stock opened at $15.62 on Monday. Upbound Group has a 12-month low of $15.37 and a 12-month high of $23.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $910.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $18.83 and a 200-day moving average of $18.90.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. Upbound Group had a net margin of 1.90% and a return on equity of 34.53%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. Upbound Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000-4.350 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.850-0.950 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Upbound Group will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.0%. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.30%.

Insider Transactions at Upbound Group

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 2,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.09 per share, with a total value of $46,106.55. Following the transaction, the director owned 96,681 shares in the company, valued at $1,942,321.29. This represents a 2.43% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Anthony J. Blasquez sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.85, for a total value of $188,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,717 shares in the company, valued at $824,065.45. The trade was a 18.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Upbound Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UPBD. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Upbound Group during the second quarter worth $194,216,000. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in Upbound Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,565,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Upbound Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $18,862,000. Huber Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 80.2% during the 4th quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 1,739,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,538,000 after buying an additional 773,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $7,455,000. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Upbound Group

Upbound Group, Inc is a consumer leasing and retail services company headquartered in Plano, Texas. The company operates through two primary brands: Rent-A-Center, a lease-to-own provider, and Acima, a technology-enabled point-of-sale leasing platform. Its services are designed to give consumers access to household and consumer products through flexible leasing arrangements, including options that may not require traditional credit.

Rent-A-Center offers furniture, appliances, electronics, computers, smartphones and other durable goods through company-operated and franchised stores, as well as digital channels.