Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Shares of Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $164.00, but opened at $178.50. Avis Budget Group shares last traded at $187.88, with a volume of 152,007 shares trading hands.

The business services provider reported $16.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.54 by $2.24. The firm had revenue of $3.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. Avis Budget Group had a net margin of 18.37% and a negative return on equity of 500.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $21.70 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Avis Budget Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $263.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Avis Budget Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $237.60.

Institutional Trading of Avis Budget Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAR. Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 70.4% during the first quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 1,534,724 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $298,964,000 after buying an additional 634,040 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Avis Budget Group by 476,726.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 410,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $71,299,000 after acquiring an additional 409,985 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in Avis Budget Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,606,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 140.2% during the first quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 294,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $57,320,000 after purchasing an additional 171,743 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 70.2% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 330,937 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $64,467,000 after purchasing an additional 136,461 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.26% of the company’s stock.

Avis Budget Group Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a PE ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 2.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $186.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $196.55.

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; the Budget Truck brand, 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 approximately 415 dealer-operated and 390 company-operated locations that serve the light commercial and consumer sectors in the continental United States; and the Zipcar brand, a car sharing network.