Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Key Points

• Unusually heavy options activity hit Upbound Group, with investors buying 2,884 call options on Friday — a 964% jump above the average daily volume of 271.
• Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 2,295 shares at $20.09 each, increasing his ownership by 2.43% and signaling insider confidence in the stock.
• Wall Street remains cautiously positive on UPBD, with a Moderate Buy consensus and a $31.00 average price target, while the stock recently traded at $21.67 and yields 7.2% from its quarterly dividend.

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors purchased 2,884 call options on the company. This is an increase of 964% compared to the average daily volume of 271 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 2,295 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.09 per share, with a total value of $46,106.55. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 96,681 shares in the company, valued at $1,942,321.29. This represents a 2.43% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upbound Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UPBD. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $472,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 18.2% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,360 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $227,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the 1st quarter valued at $7,455,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 194,819 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,516,000 after purchasing an additional 18,758 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on UPBD. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Upbound Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Upbound Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Upbound Group from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.00.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UPBD traded up $1.35 during trading on Friday, reaching $21.67. 253,987 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 853,419. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 3.06 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.05 and a beta of 1.79. Upbound Group has a 52-week low of $15.82 and a 52-week high of $28.02. The company has a 50-day moving average of $18.80 and a 200-day moving average of $19.05.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 35.56% and a net margin of 1.78%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. Upbound Group has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.000-1.100 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000-4.350 EPS. Analysts forecast that Upbound Group will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Upbound Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.09%.

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

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