Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Hits New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) shares hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $17.30 and last traded at $17.2850, with a volume of 129826 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $17.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on UPBD. Zacks Research lowered Upbound Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Upbound Group from $36.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Upbound Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. BTIG Research dropped their price target on shares of Upbound Group from $40.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Loop Capital raised shares of Upbound Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Upbound Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.50.

Upbound Group Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $22.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.75. The firm has a market cap of $998.42 million, a PE ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 3.11 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. Upbound Group had a net margin of 2.28% and a return on equity of 36.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. Upbound Group’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Upbound Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.050-4.150 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.0%. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 107.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 1,951 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.27 per share, with a total value of $43,448.77. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 90,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,025,790.55. This trade represents a 2.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ralph T. Montrone sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.23, for a total value of $151,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 49,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,239,373.29. The trade was a 10.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Upbound Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $331,000. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 100,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Upbound Group by 67.1% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 159,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,759,000 after purchasing an additional 63,900 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Upbound Group during the 3rd quarter worth $462,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Upbound Group by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 339,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,014,000 after purchasing an additional 9,491 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

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.