Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Upbound Group's shares surged after Loop Capital upgraded the stock from a hold to a buy rating, with a new price target of $36.00.
• Several analysts have increased their ratings, contributing to a consensus rating of "Buy" for the stock.
• Insider trading activity included an EVP selling 6,000 shares at an average price of $25.23, representing a 10.88% decrease in ownership.

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday after Loop Capital upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The stock had previously closed at $25.02, but opened at $26.12. Loop Capital now has a $36.00 price target on the stock. Upbound Group shares last traded at $26.98, with a volume of 100,791 shares traded.

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Upbound Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 1,653 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.90 per share, with a total value of $42,812.70. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 89,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,315,460. This trade represents a 1.88% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ralph T. Montrone sold 6,000 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.23, for a total value of $151,380.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 49,123 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,239,373.29. This trade represents a 10.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upbound Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in Upbound Group by 175.3% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in Upbound Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,463,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Upbound Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $199,000. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Upbound Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,110,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in Upbound Group by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 175,462 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,404,000 after purchasing an additional 13,455 shares in the last quarter. 90.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Upbound Group Trading Down 2.8%

The company has a current ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.93 and a beta of 1.77.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 36.26% and a net margin of 2.28%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.04 EPS. 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 research analysts anticipate that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Upbound Group's payout ratio is presently 87.64%.

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.