Jeffrey Brown Acquires 2,329 Shares of Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Stock

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) Director Jeffrey Brown purchased 2,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.41 per share, with a total value of $45,205.89. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Upbound Group Stock Down 2.9%

UPBD stock opened at $19.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.82 and a 52-week high of $28.02. The company has a 50-day moving average of $19.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 1.83.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.13 EPS for the current year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 7th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 7th. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio is 125.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on UPBD shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Upbound Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Upbound Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upbound Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.33.

Key Stories Impacting Upbound Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Upbound Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 EPS beat — Upbound reported $1.08 EPS vs. $1.06 consensus, driven by Brigit subscriber growth, margin expansion and stronger cash flow, which provides near-term earnings support. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Director insider buy — Director Jeffrey J. Brown purchased 2,329 shares at about $19.41, increasing his stake ~2.5%; an insider purchase can signal management confidence in the stock’s valuation. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Modest revenue growth — Q1 revenue rose ~3.7% YoY to $1.22B, showing growth but not acceleration; net margin remains low (1.56%) despite improved ROE, tempering enthusiasm about top-line momentum. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: EPS guidance roughly in-line — FY2026 EPS guide of $4.00–$4.35 and Q2 guide of $1.00–$1.10 are close to consensus, providing some earnings visibility but not a clear upside catalyst. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue and revenue guidance missed expectations — Management’s FY revenue range ($4.7B–$5.0B) and Q2 revenue guide ($1.1B–$1.2B) were modestly below Street midpoints, raising concern about near-term top-line momentum and prompting profit-taking. Read More.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPBD. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Upbound Group by 15.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 48,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,157,000 after purchasing an additional 6,623 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $764,000 after buying an additional 1,376 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 73.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 532,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,766,000 after buying an additional 224,811 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 286.3% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 86,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,071,000 after buying an additional 64,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the second quarter worth approximately $440,000. 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.