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

StockNews.com lowered shares of Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

CAR has been the subject of several other research reports. Northcoast Research raised shares of Avis Budget Group from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 25th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Avis Budget Group from $145.00 to $117.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Avis Budget Group from $170.00 to $140.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Avis Budget Group from $190.00 to $187.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Avis Budget Group currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $164.57.

Avis Budget Group Stock Performance

Avis Budget Group stock traded up $1.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $115.60. 1,058,913 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 903,108. Avis Budget Group has a twelve month low of $93.53 and a twelve month high of $244.95. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $150.32. The firm has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a PE ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 2.28.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported ($3.21) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.65) by ($0.56). Avis Budget Group had a net margin of 10.05% and a negative return on equity of 480.48%. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.72 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Avis Budget Group will post 13.55 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avis Budget Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 10.3% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,704 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,025,000 after buying an additional 531 shares during the period. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning bought a new position in Avis Budget Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,695,000. ING Groep NV bought a new stake in shares of Avis Budget Group in the third quarter worth about $16,172,000. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc raised its stake in Avis Budget Group by 37.5% during the third quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc now owns 11,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,977,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 5,759 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. 96.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.