StockNews.com Downgrades Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) to Sell

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

CAR has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $205.00 to $175.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Avis Budget Group from $170.00 to $140.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Avis Budget Group from $202.00 to $183.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $120.00 to $105.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Avis Budget Group from $120.00 to $95.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $148.57.

Avis Budget Group Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Avis Budget Group stock opened at $87.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 2.21. Avis Budget Group has a twelve month low of $79.03 and a twelve month high of $233.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $101.05 and its 200 day moving average is $111.97.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The business services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by ($2.19). Avis Budget Group had a net margin of 10.05% and a negative return on equity of 480.48%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $11.01 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Avis Budget Group will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avis Budget Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CAR. Par Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Avis Budget Group by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. now owns 848,959 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $150,486,000 after acquiring an additional 117,600 shares during the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 220.9% in the 2nd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 690,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $72,147,000 after buying an additional 475,181 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Avis Budget Group by 17.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 589,780 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $61,644,000 after buying an additional 88,279 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 403,279 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $71,305,000 after acquiring an additional 40,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Avis Budget Group by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 296,355 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $52,534,000 after purchasing an additional 46,021 shares in the last quarter. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.