TD Cowen Upgrades Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) to “Strong-Buy”

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) was upgraded by equities researchers at TD Cowen to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Stephens initiated coverage on Upbound Group in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Upbound Group from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, 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 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.17.

Upbound Group Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ UPBD opened at $34.39 on Friday. 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 one year low of $26.50 and a one year high of $38.72. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $30.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of 23.72 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 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 company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Upbound Group will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Upbound Group

In other Upbound Group news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown purchased 1,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $29.25 per share, with a total value of $31,151.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 85,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,493,094.50. This trade represents a 1.27 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the second quarter worth approximately $606,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 153.0% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 98,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,148,000 after buying an additional 59,526 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the second quarter worth approximately $89,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 62.5% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 63,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,944,000 after buying an additional 24,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huber Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 51.4% during the second quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 745,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,881,000 after buying an additional 253,104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

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.