Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. TD Cowen cut 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. Zacks Research upgraded Upbound Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. BTIG Research lowered Upbound Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Upbound Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upbound Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.00.

Upbound Group Price Performance

UPBD stock opened at $15.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 3.22. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $18.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.84. Upbound Group has a one year low of $15.13 and a one year high of $23.98. The company has a market capitalization of $916.48 million, a PE ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 1.78.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.02. The company 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%. Upbound Group’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. 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 analysts anticipate that Upbound Group will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Upbound Group news, EVP Anthony Blasquez sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $824,065.45. This trade represents a 18.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $194,216,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Upbound Group by 15.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,394,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,227,000 after purchasing an additional 327,203 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Upbound Group in the second quarter worth $37,565,000. Huber Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 80.2% during the fourth quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 1,739,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,538,000 after purchasing an additional 773,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the second quarter worth $18,862,000. Institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Company Profile

Upbound Group, Inc is a provider of branded leasing and alternative-purchase solutions for consumers. The company operates through a network of stores and digital channels, offering access to products such as furniture, appliances, consumer electronics, computers, smartphones and other household merchandise through lease-to-own and related payment arrangements.

Its principal brands include Rent-A-Center, which provides lease-to-own products through company-operated and franchised locations, and Acima, a technology-enabled point-of-sale leasing platform that connects consumers with participating retail merchants.