Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $117.00.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Avis Budget Group from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Avis Budget Group from $100.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Avis Budget Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avis Budget Group

In other Avis Budget Group news, Director Lynn Krominga sold 1,405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $133,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,950 shares in the company, valued at $185,250. This represents a 41.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 52.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avis Budget Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 193.2% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 9,028 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 5,949 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 65,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,935,000 after purchasing an additional 9,246 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Avis Budget Group by 10.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,749 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Shellback Capital LP acquired a new stake in Avis Budget Group during the first quarter worth approximately $3,795,000. Finally, Mountain Lake Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 60.2% in the first quarter. Mountain Lake Investment Management LLC now owns 108,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,211,000 after purchasing an additional 40,638 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

Avis Budget Group Trading Up 3.6%

CAR opened at $112.71 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.63. Avis Budget Group has a 1-year low of $54.03 and a 1-year high of $119.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of -2.18 and a beta of 2.10.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported ($14.35) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($5.72) by ($8.63). The company had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. Avis Budget Group had a negative net margin of 15.45% and a negative return on equity of 14.74%. Avis Budget Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($3.21) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Avis Budget Group will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current 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.