Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on UPBD. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Upbound Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $31.33.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

UPBD opened at $17.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $18.36 and a 200 day moving average of $18.76. Upbound Group has a fifty-two week low of $15.82 and a fifty-two week high of $28.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 3.06.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.02. Upbound Group had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 35.56%. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Upbound Group has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.000-1.100 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000-4.350 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Upbound Group will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 7th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 7th. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is 109.09%.

Insider Activity at Upbound Group

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 2,329 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.41 per share, for a total transaction of $45,205.89. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 94,840 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,844.40. The trade was a 2.52% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Upbound Group by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 25,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in Upbound Group by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 15,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Upbound Group by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Upbound Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 46,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $814,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olympiad Research LP increased its stake in Upbound Group by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Olympiad Research LP now owns 10,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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. It offers furniture comprising mattresses, tires, consumer electronics, appliances, tools, handbags, computers, smartphones, and accessories.