Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $17.30 and last traded at $17.2850, with a volume of 129826 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UPBD. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a research report on Thursday. BTIG Research dropped their target price on Upbound Group from $40.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Loop Capital raised shares of Upbound Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, September 15th. Zacks Research cut shares of Upbound Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Upbound Group from $36.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.50.

Upbound Group Stock Down 0.4%

The stock has a market cap of $982.09 million, a P/E ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a current ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $22.39 and its 200-day moving average is $23.68.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. Upbound Group had a net margin of 2.28% and a return on equity of 36.26%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Upbound Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.050-4.150 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.2%. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 107.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 1,951 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $22.27 per share, with a total value of $43,448.77. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 90,965 shares in the company, valued at $2,025,790.55. The trade was a 2.19% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ralph T. Montrone sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.23, for a total value of $151,380.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 49,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,239,373.29. This represents a 10.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UPBD. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 35.5% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the third quarter valued at $57,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 414.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 2,108 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the second quarter worth $95,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 179.4% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 2,512 shares in the last quarter. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.