Anthony Blasquez Sells 10,000 Shares of Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Stock

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) EVP Anthony Blasquez sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.85, for a total value of $188,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,717 shares in the company, valued at $824,065.45. This trade represents a 18.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ UPBD opened at $19.29 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.38. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 1.79. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $15.82 and a 1-year high of $28.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.02. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 34.53% and a net margin of 1.90%.The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. Upbound Group’s quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Upbound Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000-4.350 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.850-0.950 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upbound Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UPBD. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Upbound Group by 15.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 48,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,157,000 after buying an additional 6,623 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $764,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 73.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 532,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,766,000 after acquiring an additional 224,811 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Upbound Group by 286.3% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 86,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,071,000 after acquiring an additional 64,073 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $440,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on UPBD shares. BTIG Research cut shares of Upbound Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Upbound Group from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Upbound Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research downgraded Upbound Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Upbound Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.67.

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. It offers furniture comprising mattresses, tires, consumer electronics, appliances, tools, handbags, computers, smartphones, and accessories.