Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Raised to Buy at Loop Capital

Key Points

• Upbound Group has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Loop Capital, with a target price of $36.00, suggesting a potential upside of 43.88%.
• The company's earnings report indicated a 7.5% increase in revenue compared to the previous year, with an EPS of $1.12 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations.
• Institutional investors own approximately 90.30% of Upbound Group's stock, reflecting strong interest from major financial entities.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Loop Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, September 15th, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Loop Capital's price target suggests a potential upside of 35.54% from the stock's current price.

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Upbound Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $36.80.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

Shares of UPBD stock opened at $26.56 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.92 and a beta of 1.77. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.05. Upbound Group has a 12-month low of $19.65 and a 12-month high of $36.00. The company has a current ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Upbound Group

In other Upbound Group news, EVP Ralph T. Montrone sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.23, for a total value 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 1,653 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.90 per share, for a total transaction of $42,812.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 89,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,315,460. This represents a 1.88% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Upbound Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPBD. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 175.3% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 14,011 shares of the company's stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 8,922 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the second quarter worth $1,463,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the second quarter worth $199,000. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in Upbound Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,110,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Upbound Group by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 175,462 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,404,000 after acquiring an additional 13,455 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.30% of the company's stock.

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.