Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $39.17.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UPBD. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Upbound Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Upbound Group from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 1,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $29.25 per share, with a total value of $31,151.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 85,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,493,094.50. This trade represents a 1.27 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the second quarter worth $606,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Upbound Group by 3.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,005,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,453,000 after buying an additional 209,422 shares in the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the 1st quarter worth about $12,198,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $89,000. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 62.5% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 63,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,944,000 after acquiring an additional 24,367 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UPBD opened at $34.40 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 3.66. Upbound Group has a one year low of $26.50 and a one year high of $38.72. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.57. The company has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.72 and a beta of 2.01.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. Upbound Group had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 34.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Upbound Group will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.30%. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 102.07%.

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.