Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

UPBD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Friday, March 27th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Upbound Group in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Upbound Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upbound Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.25.

Upbound Group Trading Up 0.9%

UPBD opened at $19.96 on Monday. Upbound Group has a twelve month low of $15.82 and a twelve month high of $28.02. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10 and a beta of 1.85.

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

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,132,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,246,000 after buying an additional 231,293 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 24.1% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,532,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,854,000 after buying an additional 491,536 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,410,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,220,000 after buying an additional 246,146 shares during the period. Huber Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 80.2% in the fourth quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 1,739,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,538,000 after buying an additional 773,775 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,315,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,103,000 after buying an additional 59,798 shares during the period. 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.