Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at TD Cowen

TD Cowen upgraded shares of Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Friday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Stephens started coverage on Upbound Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Upbound Group from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price target on Upbound Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Upbound Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.17.

Upbound Group Trading Down 0.2 %

UPBD stock opened at $34.39 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.61. Upbound Group has a fifty-two week low of $26.50 and a fifty-two week high of $38.72. The firm has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of 23.72 and a beta of 2.01. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. Upbound Group had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 34.15%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Upbound Group will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.30%. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is 102.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 1,065 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $29.25 per share, with a total value of $31,151.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 85,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,493,094.50. This represents a 1.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Upbound Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 47.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Upbound Group by 268.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $89,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 374.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 2,590 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.