Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Separately, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 target price (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Upbound Group in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.50.

Upbound Group Trading Down 1.2%

UPBD opened at $21.62 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 1.74. 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 has a one year low of $19.65 and a one year high of $36.00.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 36.26% and a net margin of 2.28%. Upbound Group’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.04 EPS. Analysts predict that Upbound Group will post 4.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 1,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.90 per share, with a total value of $42,812.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 89,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,315,460. The trade was a 1.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UPBD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 235,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,872,000 after buying an additional 53,173 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 35,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 2,472 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $842,000 after buying an additional 7,015 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 434,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,684,000 after buying an additional 60,934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 138,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,038,000 after buying an additional 4,555 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

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.