Raymond James Reaffirms Outperform Rating for Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by research analysts at Raymond James in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $35.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $40.00. Raymond James’ price target indicates a potential upside of 44.87% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Upbound Group from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Upbound Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.60.

Upbound Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UPBD opened at $24.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 3.66. The firm has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 1.90. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.93. Upbound Group has a fifty-two week low of $19.69 and a fifty-two week high of $38.72.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.06. Upbound Group had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 35.47%. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Upbound Group will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Upbound Group news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown purchased 1,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.89 per share, for a total transaction of $33,693.66. Following the purchase, the director now owns 88,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,751,791.86. This represents a 1.96 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Fahmi Karam purchased 11,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.82 per share, for a total transaction of $296,930.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 164,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,251,831.04. This trade represents a 7.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upbound Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 59.9% during the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Upbound Group by 35.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. 90.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.