Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Upbound Group from “strong sell” to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold” with a $28.00 target price.
• Upbound Group reported quarterly EPS of $1.07, slightly above estimates, on $1.16 billion in revenue; analysts expect approximately $4.15 in EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The stock opened at $15.62, near its 12-month low of $15.37, while institutional investors own 90.3% of the company’s shares.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on UPBD. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Upbound Group from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings lowered Upbound Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Upbound Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded shares of Upbound Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $28.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.00.

Upbound Group Price Performance

Upbound Group stock opened at $15.62 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.90. The stock has a market cap of $910.65 million, a P/E ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 1.77. Upbound Group has a 12-month low of $15.37 and a 12-month high of $23.98.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.02. Upbound Group had a net margin of 1.90% and a return on equity of 34.53%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Equities analysts expect that Upbound Group will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Upbound Group

In other Upbound Group news, EVP Anthony J. Blasquez sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.85, for a total transaction of $188,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,717 shares in the company, valued at $824,065.45. This trade represents a 18.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 2,295 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.09 per share, for a total transaction of $46,106.55. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 96,681 shares in the company, valued at $1,942,321.29. This represents a 2.43% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPBD. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the second quarter valued at about $194,216,000. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in Upbound Group during the second quarter valued at about $37,565,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Upbound Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $18,862,000. Huber Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 80.2% in the 4th quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 1,739,045 shares of the company's stock worth $30,538,000 after acquiring an additional 773,775 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $7,455,000. 90.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Upbound Group

Upbound Group, Inc is a consumer leasing and retail services company headquartered in Plano, Texas. The company operates through two primary brands: Rent-A-Center, a lease-to-own provider, and Acima, a technology-enabled point-of-sale leasing platform. Its services are designed to give consumers access to household and consumer products through flexible leasing arrangements, including options that may not require traditional credit.

Rent-A-Center offers furniture, appliances, electronics, computers, smartphones and other durable goods through company-operated and franchised stores, as well as digital channels.

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