Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $133.75.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Avis Budget Group from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Avis Budget Group from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Avis Budget Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $145.00 to $143.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Northcoast Research lowered shares of Avis Budget Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAR. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Avis Budget Group by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,984 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 234.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 32,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,606,000 after acquiring an additional 22,660 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group during the 4th quarter worth about $254,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 139.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 379,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,616,000 after acquiring an additional 221,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 118.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 337 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

Avis Budget Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CAR opened at $90.18 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $93.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.24 and a beta of 2.25. Avis Budget Group has a one year low of $65.73 and a one year high of $176.79.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The business services provider reported $6.65 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $16.78 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Avis Budget Group will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Avis Budget Group

Avis Budget Group, Inc engages in the provision of vehicle sharing and rental services. It operates through the following segments: Americas, International, and Corporate and Other. The Americas segment includes the vehicle rental and car sharing operations in North America, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.