Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Upbound Group has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen in a recent research report.
• Raymond James Financial has set a target price of $35.00 for Upbound Group shares, down from a previous $40.00, while the stock currently has a consensus target of $34.50.
• The company reported higher earnings per share of $1.12, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.05, along with a year-over-year revenue increase of 7.5% for the last quarter.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $35.00 price target (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Upbound Group in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.50.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

UPBD stock traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $25.41. The company had a trading volume of 506,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 681,802. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 3.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 1.77. Upbound Group has a one year low of $19.65 and a one year high of $36.00. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $24.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.14.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.04 earnings per share. Upbound Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.050-4.40 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 0.950-1.05 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Upbound Group will post 4.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upbound Group

In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 1,653 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.90 per share, with a total value of $42,812.70. Following the purchase, the director owned 89,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,315,460. The trade was a 1.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Upbound Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Upbound Group by 3.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,025,821 shares of the company's stock worth $168,339,000 after acquiring an additional 244,746 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 517.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 4,535,114 shares of the company's stock valued at $113,831,000 after purchasing an additional 3,801,043 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,041,415 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,240,000 after purchasing an additional 352,264 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,341,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,672,000 after purchasing an additional 27,185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,051,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,197,000 after purchasing an additional 77,450 shares in the last quarter. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.