Stephens Initiates Coverage on Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Investment analysts at Stephens started coverage on shares of Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) in a research report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Stephens’ price target indicates a potential upside of 17.14% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on UPBD. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Upbound Group from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Upbound Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.17.

Upbound Group Stock Down 2.0 %

Upbound Group stock opened at $32.44 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. Upbound Group has a 1-year low of $26.50 and a 1-year high of $38.72. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.50. The company has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.37 and a beta of 2.01.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 34.15% and a net margin of 1.91%. Upbound Group’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Upbound Group will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Upbound Group

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 1,065 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $29.25 per share, for a total transaction of $31,151.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 85,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,493,094.50. This represents a 1.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Transient C. Taylor sold 15,127 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.00, for a total transaction of $514,318.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $498,134. The trade was a 50.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upbound Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $606,000. Interval Partners LP increased its stake in Upbound Group by 155.1% during the 1st quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 96,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,385,000 after acquiring an additional 58,442 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its holdings in Upbound Group by 78.4% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 137,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,825,000 after acquiring an additional 60,203 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,005,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,453,000 after acquiring an additional 209,422 shares during the period. Finally, SG Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the 1st quarter worth $12,198,000. 90.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.