Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) Short Interest Down 13.4% in November

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,520,000 shares, a decrease of 13.4% from the November 15th total of 2,910,000 shares. Currently, 7.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 685,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Avis Budget Group Stock Down 1.5 %

Avis Budget Group stock traded down $1.40 during trading on Monday, reaching $90.79. The stock had a trading volume of 545,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 708,446. Avis Budget Group has a 52-week low of $65.73 and a 52-week high of $195.05. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 8.29 and a beta of 2.20. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $93.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.27.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The business services provider reported $6.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.55 by ($1.90). Avis Budget Group had a negative return on equity of 101.41% and a net margin of 3.34%. The business had revenue of $3.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $16.78 earnings per share. Avis Budget Group’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Avis Budget Group will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays began coverage on shares of Avis Budget Group in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Avis Budget Group from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Avis Budget Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Avis Budget Group from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Avis Budget Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.75.

Institutional Trading of Avis Budget Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wolverine Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 93.4% during the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 16,771 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,469,000 after acquiring an additional 8,100 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 200,576 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,571,000 after buying an additional 46,922 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $19,978,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Avis Budget Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,400,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC lifted its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 123.8% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 22,745 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,992,000 after acquiring an additional 12,580 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

Avis Budget Group Company Profile

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.