Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Upgraded 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 researchers at Loop Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $36.00 target price on the stock. Loop Capital's price objective indicates a potential upside of 32.43% from the company's previous close.

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Upbound Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. One equities research 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, Upbound Group currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $36.80.

Upbound Group Price Performance

Shares of UPBD stock opened at $27.19 on Monday. Upbound Group has a twelve month low of $19.65 and a twelve month high of $36.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.31 and a beta of 1.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.99. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.04 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter 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. On average, analysts predict that Upbound Group will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Upbound Group

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 1,653 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were acquired 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 directly owned 89,400 shares in the company, valued at $2,315,460. The trade was a 1.88% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Ralph T. Montrone sold 6,000 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,239,373.29. The trade was a 10.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upbound Group

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