Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.3333.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UPBD. Zacks Research raised shares of Upbound Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Upbound Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Friday, March 27th.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UPBD opened at $18.20 on Friday. Upbound Group has a 1 year low of $15.82 and a 1 year high of $28.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 3.06 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $18.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 1.80.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.08 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, equities research analysts expect that Upbound Group will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.6%. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.09%.

Insider Activity

In other Upbound Group news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 2,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.41 per share, with a total value of $45,205.89. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 94,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,840,844.40. This represents a 2.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 194,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,516,000 after acquiring an additional 18,758 shares during the last quarter. Amundi acquired a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $263,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 73.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 6,165 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 240,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,345,000 after acquiring an additional 25,875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 83.4% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 47,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $857,000 after acquiring an additional 21,578 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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. It offers furniture comprising mattresses, tires, consumer electronics, appliances, tools, handbags, computers, smartphones, and accessories.