Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Shares Climb 8.1% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) traded up 8.1% during trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $22.40 and last traded at $22.3750. Approximately 220,106 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 926,410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPBD has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings cut Upbound Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Upbound Group from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Upbound Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Upbound Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Upbound Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Upbound Group Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 1.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 3.17.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Upbound Group had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 33.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 6th. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Upbound Group news, EVP Anthony Blasquez sold 10,000 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 43,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $824,065.45. The trade was a 18.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Brown acquired 2,764 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.01 per share, for a total transaction of $47,015.64. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 98,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,682,254.98. This trade represents a 2.88% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Upbound Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPBD. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the second quarter worth about $194,216,000. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in Upbound Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,565,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Upbound Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $18,862,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Upbound Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $7,455,000. Finally, One Way Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Upbound Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,610,000. 90.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Upbound Group

Upbound Group, Inc is a provider of consumer leasing and retail solutions, operating primarily through its Rent-A-Center and Acima brands. The company enables customers to obtain merchandise through flexible lease-to-own agreements and related payment options, serving consumers who may prefer alternatives to traditional retail financing.

Its Rent-A-Center business operates company-owned and franchised locations, as well as digital channels, offering furniture, appliances, electronics, computers, smartphones and other household goods.