Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) Short Interest Update

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) was the target of a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,100,000 shares, an increase of 11.1% from the August 31st total of 2,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 627,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.9 days. Approximately 9.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Avis Budget Group Trading Up 2.3 %

CAR stock traded up $1.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $87.59. The company had a trading volume of 815,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 720,774. Avis Budget Group has a 52 week low of $65.73 and a 52 week high of $204.77. The stock has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 2.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $85.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.50.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The business services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by ($2.19). The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Avis Budget Group had a net margin of 6.58% and a negative return on equity of 230.71%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $11.01 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Avis Budget Group will post 7.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Avis Budget Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CAR. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Avis Budget Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $19,978,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 70,663.6% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 7,784 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $954,000 after buying an additional 7,773 shares during the period. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avis Budget Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,069,000. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,898,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,234,000. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on CAR shares. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Avis Budget Group from $120.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Avis Budget Group from $205.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Avis Budget Group from $120.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Avis Budget Group from $155.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Avis Budget Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.50.

Avis Budget Group Company Profile

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.