Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on the stock from $37.00 to $35.00. The stock had previously closed at $31.99, but opened at $31.14. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the stock. Upbound Group shares last traded at $30.44, with a volume of 42,069 shares changing hands.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital restated a “hold” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Upbound Group in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Upbound Group in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Upbound Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.00.

Insider Transactions at Upbound Group

In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 1,031 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $29.82 per share, with a total value of $30,744.42. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 84,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,509,919.58. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown purchased 1,031 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $29.82 per share, for a total transaction of $30,744.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 84,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,509,919.58. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Ralph T. Montrone sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.48, for a total value of $487,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,074 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,603.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upbound Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPBD. CoreCap Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the second quarter valued at about $606,000. Interval Partners LP lifted its holdings in Upbound Group by 155.1% in the 1st quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 96,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,385,000 after buying an additional 58,442 shares during the period. Napatree Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Upbound Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $820,000. ClariVest Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Upbound Group by 36,691.7% in the 1st quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 30,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,088,000 after buying an additional 30,821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 78.4% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 137,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,825,000 after buying an additional 60,203 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $32.24 and a 200 day moving average of $32.15. The company has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -61.65 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 3.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Upbound Group had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.22%. Upbound Group’s payout ratio is -321.74%.

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.