Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on UPBD. BTIG Research dropped their price target on shares of Upbound Group from $40.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Upbound Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Upbound Group from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.25.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

UPBD opened at $20.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 3.16 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $18.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.73. Upbound Group has a 1 year low of $15.82 and a 1 year high of $30.62. The stock has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.90 and a beta of 1.85.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. Upbound Group had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 36.08%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 17th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 17th. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 107.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 2,502 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.68 per share, with a total value of $44,235.36. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 92,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,643,744.96. This represents a 2.77% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Upbound Group by 1.9% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 25,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $645,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 15,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of Upbound Group by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 84,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,122,000 after buying an additional 621 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Upbound Group by 5.5% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Upbound Group by 18.2% in the second quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Company Profile

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.