Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $39.17.

A number of research firms have recently commented on UPBD. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Upbound Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upgraded Upbound Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Stephens began coverage on Upbound Group in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Upbound Group from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 1st.

Insider Activity

In other Upbound Group news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 1,146 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $29.01 per share, for a total transaction of $33,245.46. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 86,380 shares in the company, valued at $2,505,883.80. This trade represents a 1.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upbound Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Upbound Group by 2,864.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 405,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,974,000 after purchasing an additional 391,888 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Upbound Group by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,217,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,968,000 after purchasing an additional 54,427 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Upbound Group by 42.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 316,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,116,000 after purchasing an additional 94,333 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Upbound Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,028,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,883,000 after purchasing an additional 43,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Upbound Group by 153.0% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 98,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,148,000 after buying an additional 59,526 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ UPBD opened at $29.50 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $31.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.40. Upbound Group has a twelve month low of $26.50 and a twelve month high of $38.72. The company has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 20.34 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a current ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 34.15% and a net margin of 1.91%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Upbound Group will post 3.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Upbound Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.29%. This is a positive change from Upbound Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 107.59%.

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.