Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) Trading Down 7% on Analyst Downgrade

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) shares dropped 7% on Tuesday after Susquehanna lowered their price target on the stock from $145.00 to $117.00. Susquehanna currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Avis Budget Group traded as low as $96.11 and last traded at $96.30. Approximately 261,505 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 817,998 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.56.

Several other research firms have also commented on CAR. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group from $190.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Northcoast Research upgraded Avis Budget Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Avis Budget Group in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Avis Budget Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Avis Budget Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.86.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avis Budget Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAR. Denali Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 94.1% during the 1st quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 231 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 101.0% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 209 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 15,550.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 313 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avis Budget Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 248.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 491 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

Avis Budget Group Trading Down 6.7 %

The company has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 2.22. The company’s fifty day moving average is $111.49 and its 200 day moving average is $152.16.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $7.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.15 by $2.95. Avis Budget Group had a negative return on equity of 696.69% and a net margin of 13.59%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.81 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 14.73 EPS for the current year.

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; 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.