Empowered Funds LLC Invests $5.02 Million in Upbound Group, Inc. $UPBD

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 236,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,024,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UPBD. AQR Capital Management LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 6,623 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Upbound Group by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $764,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Upbound Group by 73.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 532,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,766,000 after purchasing an additional 224,811 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in Upbound Group by 286.3% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 86,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,071,000 after purchasing an additional 64,073 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Upbound Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $440,000. 90.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on UPBD. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Upbound Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. TD Cowen cut their price target on Upbound Group from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. BTIG Research downgraded Upbound Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research downgraded Upbound Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Upbound Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Upbound Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.67.

Insider Activity at Upbound Group

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown purchased 2,295 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.09 per share, for a total transaction of $46,106.55. Following the transaction, the director owned 96,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,942,321.29. The trade was a 2.43% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Anthony J. Blasquez sold 10,000 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.85, for a total transaction of $188,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Trading Down 4.8%

Shares of Upbound Group stock opened at $18.30 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.82 and a 12-month high of $28.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $20.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.36.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. Upbound Group had a net margin of 1.90% and a return on equity of 34.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. 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. On average, analysts forecast that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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