Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Acquires 32,533 Shares of Upbound Group, Inc. $UPBD

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Upbound Group, acquiring an additional 32,533 shares, resulting in a 149.5% growth in their position to a total of 54,301 shares.
• Upbound Group reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.05 EPS, with a revenue of $1.16 billion.
• The company's stock currently holds a "Moderate Buy" rating from analysts, with a consensus target price of $34.50.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Free Report) by 149.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,301 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 32,533 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 0.09% of Upbound Group worth $1,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 59.9% in the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 35.5% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 2.6% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 24,100 shares of the company's stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 2.5% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 28,301 shares of the company's stock worth $678,000 after buying an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 10.0% in the first quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 9,819 shares of the company's stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on UPBD shares. Loop Capital upgraded Upbound Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $36.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Upbound Group in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Upbound Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ralph T. Montrone sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.23, for a total transaction of $151,380.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 49,123 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,239,373.29. This represents a 10.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 1,653 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.90 per share, for a total transaction of $42,812.70. Following the purchase, the director owned 89,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,315,460. The trade was a 1.88% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Upbound Group Trading Down 2.2%

UPBD stock traded down $0.60 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $26.75. 714,472 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 650,653. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.65 and a 52-week high of $36.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 3.11. The business has a 50 day moving average of $24.46 and a 200-day moving average of $24.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03 and a beta of 1.77.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.07. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 36.26% and a net margin of 2.28%.The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Upbound Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.050-4.40 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 0.950-1.05 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.