Zacks Research Upgrades Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) to Hold

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on UPBD. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Upbound Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a research report on Monday. Loop Capital raised Upbound Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, September 15th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Upbound Group from $36.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, BTIG Research decreased their price target on Upbound Group from $40.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Upbound Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.50.

Upbound Group Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Upbound Group stock opened at $17.57 on Monday. Upbound Group has a twelve month low of $15.82 and a twelve month high of $30.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $18.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 1.87.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. Upbound Group had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 36.08%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. Upbound Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Upbound Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.050-4.150 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Upbound Group will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Upbound Group

In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 1,951 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $22.27 per share, with a total value of $43,448.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 90,965 shares in the company, valued at $2,025,790.55. The trade was a 2.19% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UPBD. Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in Upbound Group by 517.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 4,535,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,831,000 after purchasing an additional 3,801,043 shares in the last quarter. Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the second quarter valued at $18,961,000. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 24.1% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,532,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,854,000 after acquiring an additional 491,536 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Upbound Group by 60.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,255,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,676,000 after acquiring an additional 472,550 shares during the period. Finally, Huber Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Upbound Group by 67.9% during the 3rd quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 965,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,809,000 after acquiring an additional 390,331 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.