Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. BTIG Research lowered Upbound Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded Upbound Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Upbound Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Upbound Group from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.50.

Upbound Group Stock Down 0.5%

UPBD stock opened at $16.99 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $990.52 million, a P/E ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 1.78. Upbound Group has a 52 week low of $14.98 and a 52 week high of $23.98. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $17.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.89. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.02. Upbound Group had a net margin of 1.90% and a return on equity of 34.53%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Upbound Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000-4.350 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.850-0.950 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Upbound Group will post 4.20 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio is 101.30%.

Insider Activity at Upbound Group

In other news, EVP Anthony Blasquez sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.85, for a total value of $188,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,717 shares in the company, valued at $824,065.45. This represents a 18.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UPBD. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Upbound Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $194,216,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Upbound Group by 15.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,394,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,227,000 after buying an additional 327,203 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the second quarter worth $37,565,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the second quarter worth $18,862,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the first quarter worth $7,455,000. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Upbound Group Company Profile

Upbound Group, Inc is a provider of consumer leasing and retail solutions, operating primarily through its Rent-A-Center and Acima brands. The company enables customers to obtain merchandise through flexible lease-to-own agreements and related payment options, serving consumers who may prefer alternatives to traditional retail financing.

Its Rent-A-Center business operates company-owned and franchised locations, as well as digital channels, offering furniture, appliances, electronics, computers, smartphones and other household goods.