Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a strong sell rating to a hold rating. The stock had previously closed at $19.91, but opened at $20.75. Upbound Group shares last traded at $20.5110, with a volume of 179,891 shares.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Upbound Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Friday, March 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Upbound Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upbound Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UPBD. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of 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 during the period. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in Upbound Group by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 15,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Upbound Group by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Upbound Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 46,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $814,000 after buying an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olympiad Research LP raised its holdings in Upbound Group by 8.7% during the third quarter. Olympiad Research LP now owns 10,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 840 shares during the period. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Upbound Group Trading Up 0.3%

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.04. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 35.23% and a net margin of 1.56%.The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.13 EPS for the current year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 7th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 7th. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 125.81%.

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.