Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $164.57.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CAR shares. Northcoast Research raised Avis Budget Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Avis Budget Group from $190.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com cut Avis Budget Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Avis Budget Group from $145.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on Avis Budget Group from $170.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st.

Avis Budget Group Trading Up 3.7 %

CAR opened at $105.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.86. The company has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 2.21. Avis Budget Group has a 12-month low of $93.53 and a 12-month high of $244.95.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported ($3.21) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.72 earnings per share. Avis Budget Group’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Avis Budget Group will post 12.48 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Avis Budget Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Avis Budget Group by 133.0% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 22,775 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,789,000 after acquiring an additional 13,000 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,759 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009 shares during the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $595,000. Black Maple Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,033,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LP bought a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $391,000. Institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

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.