Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $15.26 and last traded at $15.23, with a volume of 133799 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.70.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Upbound Group from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research raised Upbound Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Upbound Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Upbound Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, BTIG Research lowered shares of Upbound Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Upbound Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.00.

Upbound Group Trading Down 1.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 3.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $902.48 million, a P/E ratio of 10.02 and a beta of 1.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $18.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.89.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) last announced 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. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 34.53% and a net margin of 1.90%.The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. Upbound Group’s 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.1%. Upbound Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.30%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Anthony 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 value of $188,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $824,065.45. This trade represents a 18.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jeffrey Brown purchased 2,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.09 per share, for a total transaction of $46,106.55. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 96,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,942,321.29. This trade represents a 2.43% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Upbound Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Upbound Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,504,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 249.0% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 244,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,419,000 after purchasing an additional 174,682 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the second quarter worth approximately $3,868,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upbound Group during the first quarter worth approximately $1,153,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Upbound Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $194,216,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.30% of the company’s stock.

Upbound Group Company Profile

Upbound Group, Inc is a consumer leasing and retail services company headquartered in Plano, Texas. The company operates through two primary brands: Rent-A-Center, a lease-to-own provider, and Acima, a technology-enabled point-of-sale leasing platform. Its services are designed to give consumers access to household and consumer products through flexible leasing arrangements, including options that may not require traditional credit.

Rent-A-Center offers furniture, appliances, electronics, computers, smartphones and other durable goods through company-operated and franchised stores, as well as digital channels.