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

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) has received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $136.8333.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $113.00 price target (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Avis Budget Group in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Avis Budget Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Avis Budget Group from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Zacks Research raised Avis Budget Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th.

Avis Budget Group Stock Performance

Shares of CAR opened at $134.85 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $143.00 and a 200-day moving average of $152.05. The company has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.26 and a beta of 2.29. Avis Budget Group has a 1 year low of $54.03 and a 1 year high of $212.81.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $10.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.11 by $2.00. The firm had revenue of $3.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.65 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Avis Budget Group will post 8.91 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Avis Budget Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAR. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 10.7% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,159,993 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $346,841,000 after acquiring an additional 208,820 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Avis Budget Group by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,610,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $122,213,000 after purchasing an additional 46,038 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Avis Budget Group by 48,706.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,552,542 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $256,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,549,361 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Avis Budget Group by 46.6% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,290,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $207,142,000 after buying an additional 409,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV grew its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 440.2% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,035,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $166,195,000 after buying an additional 843,400 shares during the last quarter. 96.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.