JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Stock Holdings in Upbound Group, Inc. $UPBD

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase increased its stake in Upbound Group by 259% during the third quarter, adding 192,674 shares to hold 267,062 shares (about a 0.46% stake) valued at roughly $6.31 million.
• Institutional ownership is high at 90.30% with several funds boosting or initiating positions (e.g., Caxton +41%); director Jeffrey J. Brown also bought 2,502 shares and now holds 92,972 shares, while insiders own about 2.6%.
• Upbound beat quarterly estimates with $1.01 EPS vs. $0.97 and $1.20B revenue, gave FY2026 EPS guidance of $4.00–$4.35, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.39 (annualized $1.56, ~8.6% yield) despite a payout ratio of 125.81%.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Free Report) by 259.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 267,062 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 192,674 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.46% of Upbound Group worth $6,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Caxton Associates LLP boosted its stake in Upbound Group by 41.0% during the third quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 62,357 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,473,000 after buying an additional 18,140 shares during the last quarter. Sender Co & Partners Inc. bought a new position in Upbound Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Optimist Retirement Group LLC grew its holdings in Upbound Group by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 10,910 shares of the company's stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 1,653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Upbound Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $130,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on UPBD shares. Wall Street Zen raised Upbound Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Upbound Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Upbound Group in a research report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Upbound Group in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upbound Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 2,502 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.68 per share, for a total transaction of $44,235.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 92,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,643,744.96. The trade was a 2.77% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Upbound Group Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of UPBD stock opened at $18.05 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 1.81. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.82 and a 1 year high of $28.02. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $19.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 35.23% and a net margin of 1.56%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. Upbound Group has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.050-1.150 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000-4.350 EPS. Research analysts predict that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 7th. Upbound Group's payout ratio is presently 125.81%.

About Upbound Group

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. It offers furniture comprising mattresses, tires, consumer electronics, appliances, tools, handbags, computers, smartphones, and accessories.

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