Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Sets New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) hit a new 52-week low on Friday after Loop Capital lowered their price target on the stock from $33.00 to $30.00. Loop Capital currently has a hold rating on the stock. Upbound Group traded as low as $26.36 and last traded at $26.40, with a volume of 674137 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.64.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on UPBD. Stephens assumed coverage on Upbound Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Upbound Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.67.

Insider Activity at Upbound Group

In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 1,146 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $29.01 per share, with a total value of $33,245.46. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 86,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,505,883.80. This represents a 1.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upbound Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Upbound Group by 2,864.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 405,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,974,000 after acquiring an additional 391,888 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 4.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,217,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,968,000 after purchasing an additional 54,427 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 42.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 316,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,116,000 after purchasing an additional 94,333 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Upbound Group by 130.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 182,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,835,000 after buying an additional 103,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Upbound Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,028,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,883,000 after buying an additional 43,814 shares during the period. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Upbound Group Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 3.66.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Upbound Group had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 34.15%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 3.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This is an increase from Upbound Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.90%. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 107.59%.

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.