Brokerages Set Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) PT at $39.17

Shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.17.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UPBD shares. Stephens started coverage on Upbound Group in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Upbound Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised Upbound Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Upbound Group from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 1st.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 1,146 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $29.01 per share, for a total transaction of $33,245.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 86,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,505,883.80. The trade was a 1.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Upbound Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 268.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Upbound Group by 40.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in Upbound Group by 374.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 2,590 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Upbound Group during the third quarter worth about $142,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Upbound Group during the third quarter worth about $192,000. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Upbound Group Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of UPBD stock opened at $29.50 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $31.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.40. Upbound Group has a 1-year low of $26.50 and a 1-year high of $38.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 20.34 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 3.66 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 34.15% and a net margin of 1.91%. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. Upbound Group’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Upbound Group will post 3.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.39 dividend. This is an increase from Upbound Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 107.59%.

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.