Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

CAR has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Avis Budget Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Avis Budget Group from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Avis Budget Group from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group from $155.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $120.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avis Budget Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.13.

Avis Budget Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CAR opened at $94.79 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $82.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.43. Avis Budget Group has a 12-month low of $65.73 and a 12-month high of $204.77. The company has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 8.66 and a beta of 2.14.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The business services provider reported $6.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.55 by ($1.90). Avis Budget Group had a net margin of 3.34% and a negative return on equity of 101.41%. The company had revenue of $3.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $16.78 EPS. Avis Budget Group’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Avis Budget Group will post 6.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avis Budget Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Avis Budget Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $19,978,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 70,663.6% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 7,784 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $954,000 after purchasing an additional 7,773 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group in the first quarter valued at $1,898,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 77.8% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Avis Budget Group during the 2nd quarter worth $1,400,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

About Avis Budget Group

Avis Budget Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides car and truck rentals, car sharing, and ancillary products and services to businesses and consumers in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia, and Australasia. It operates the Avis brand, that offers vehicle rental and other mobility solutions to the premium commercial and leisure segments of the travel industry; and the Zipcar brand, a car sharing network, as well as the Budget brand, a supplier of vehicle rental and other mobility solutions focused primarily on more value-conscious customers comprising Budget car rental, and Budget Truck, a local, and one-way truck and cargo van rental businesses with a fleet of approximately 19,000 vehicles, which are rented through a network of dealer-operated and company-operated locations that serve the light commercial and consumer sectors in the continental United States.