Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $39.40.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UPBD. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Upbound Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Upbound Group from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st.

Insider Activity at Upbound Group

In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 1,065 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $29.25 per share, with a total value of $31,151.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 85,234 shares in the company, valued at $2,493,094.50. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 1,065 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $29.25 per share, for a total transaction of $31,151.25. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 85,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,493,094.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Transient C. Taylor sold 15,127 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.00, for a total value of $514,318.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $498,134. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Upbound Group by 47.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 80,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,578,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Upbound Group by 4.7% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 10,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in Upbound Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 14,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Upbound Group by 2.3% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 22,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $691,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Upbound Group Trading Up 0.5 %

UPBD stock opened at $32.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 3.66 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Upbound Group has a 1-year low of $26.50 and a 1-year high of $38.72. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.47. The company has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.74 and a beta of 2.01.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 34.15% and a net margin of 1.91%. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Upbound Group will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 102.07%.

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.