Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Upbound Group from “buy” to “hold,” joining a broader cautious analyst view. The stock has a consensus “hold” rating and an average price target of $27.50.
• Upbound Group opened at $17.08, near the lower end of its 52-week range of $14.98 to $23.98. The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.07, slightly beating estimates, while revenue reached $1.16 billion.
• Institutional investors hold 90.30% of the company, with BlackRock acquiring a new position worth approximately $194.2 million. An executive vice president separately sold 10,000 shares for about $188,500.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

UPBD has been the topic of a number of other reports. Zacks Research upgraded Upbound Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings cut Upbound Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Upbound Group from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded Upbound Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $28.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upbound Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.50.

Upbound Group Price Performance

NASDAQ UPBD opened at $17.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 3.22. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $17.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.64. Upbound Group has a 52-week low of $14.98 and a 52-week high of $23.98. The company has a market cap of $995.76 million, a PE ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 1.78.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. Upbound Group had a net margin of 1.90% and a return on equity of 34.53%. Upbound Group's revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Upbound Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000-4.350 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.850-0.950 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Upbound Group will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Anthony Blasquez sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.85, for a total value of $188,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,717 shares in the company, valued at $824,065.45. This represents a 18.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UPBD. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the second quarter worth about $194,216,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Upbound Group by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,394,770 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,227,000 after acquiring an additional 327,203 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,565,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $18,862,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $7,455,000. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Upbound Group Company Profile

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.

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