Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Zacks Research cut Upbound Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. BTIG Research dropped their target price on Upbound Group from $40.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.25.

Upbound Group Stock Down 2.6%

NASDAQ:UPBD opened at $21.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $19.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of 17.30 and a beta of 1.88. Upbound Group has a 1-year low of $15.82 and a 1-year high of $28.02.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Upbound Group had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 35.23%. Upbound Group’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. Upbound Group has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.050-1.150 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000-4.350 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Upbound Group will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Upbound Group news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 2,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.68 per share, with a total value of $44,235.36. Following the transaction, the director owned 92,972 shares in the company, valued at $1,643,744.96. This represents a 2.77% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Upbound Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UPBD. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Upbound Group by 1,173.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 58,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,391,000 after acquiring an additional 54,259 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group bought a new position in shares of Upbound Group in the third quarter worth approximately $1,793,000. TrueMark Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the third quarter worth $4,863,000. CSM Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the second quarter worth $4,022,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,463,000. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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. It offers furniture comprising mattresses, tires, consumer electronics, appliances, tools, handbags, computers, smartphones, and accessories.