Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Reaches New 12-Month Low - Here's Why

Key Points

• Upbound Group shares fell to a new 52-week low of $15.77, well below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $19.33 and $18.99, respectively.
• Analyst sentiment has weakened, with multiple firms downgrading the stock; the consensus rating is now “Hold” with an average price target of $28.00.
• The company slightly exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.07 versus $1.05 forecast, while revenue rose 0.5% year over year to $1.16 billion. Institutional ownership remains high at 90.3%, including a new position from BlackRock worth approximately $194.2 million.

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $15.77 and last traded at $15.9460, with a volume of 574986 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $15.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Upbound Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings lowered Upbound Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research cut Upbound Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. 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 note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Upbound Group from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Upbound Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.00.

Upbound Group Trading Down 0.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $927.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The firm's 50 day moving average is $19.33 and its 200 day moving average is $18.99.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 forecast that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Upbound Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $194,216,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 15.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,394,770 shares of the company's stock worth $43,227,000 after buying an additional 327,203 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the second quarter worth $37,565,000. Huber Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 80.2% during the fourth quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 1,739,045 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,538,000 after buying an additional 773,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the second quarter valued at $18,862,000. 90.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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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