Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

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

Upbound Group Trading Up 0.2%

Upbound Group stock opened at $20.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 3.16. Upbound Group has a fifty-two week low of $15.82 and a fifty-two week 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $18.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.70.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 36.08% and a net margin of 1.85%.The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Upbound Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.050-4.150 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Upbound Group will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 2,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.68 per share, for a total transaction of $44,235.36. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 92,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,643,744.96. This represents a 2.77% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upbound Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Upbound Group by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,901,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,074,000 after purchasing an additional 43,080 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 517.8% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 4,535,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,831,000 after purchasing an additional 3,801,043 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 24.1% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,532,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,854,000 after buying an additional 491,536 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Upbound Group by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,341,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,672,000 after buying an additional 27,185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Upbound Group by 60.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,255,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,676,000 after buying an additional 472,550 shares during the last quarter. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.