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

Shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $39.17.

A number of research analysts recently commented on UPBD shares. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Upbound Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stephens initiated coverage on Upbound Group in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Upbound Group from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Upbound Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upbound Group

In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 1,146 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $29.01 per share, with a total value of $33,245.46. Following the transaction, the director now owns 86,380 shares in the company, valued at $2,505,883.80. This trade represents a 1.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upbound Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Upbound Group by 2,864.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 405,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,974,000 after buying an additional 391,888 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Upbound Group by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,217,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,968,000 after acquiring an additional 54,427 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Upbound Group by 42.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 316,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,116,000 after acquiring an additional 94,333 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Upbound Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,028,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,883,000 after purchasing an additional 43,814 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 153.0% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 98,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,148,000 after purchasing an additional 59,526 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

Shares of UPBD opened at $29.54 on Thursday. Upbound Group has a 12-month low of $26.50 and a 12-month high of $38.72. The company has a current ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The company has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37 and a beta of 2.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.41.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Upbound Group had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 34.15%. Upbound Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Upbound Group will post 3.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.28%. This is a boost from Upbound Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 107.59%.

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.