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

Shares of Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $187.43.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CAR. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Avis Budget Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $234.00 to $248.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Bank of America began coverage on Avis Budget Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Avis Budget Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Avis Budget Group in a research report on Thursday, December 7th. They set a “sell” rating and a $164.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded 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 research report on Monday, March 25th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CAR. Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its position in Avis Budget Group by 70.4% in the first quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 1,534,724 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $298,964,000 after acquiring an additional 634,040 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 476,726.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 410,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $71,299,000 after purchasing an additional 409,985 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Avis Budget Group during the 3rd quarter worth $62,892,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Avis Budget Group by 1,573.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 362,965 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $64,799,000 after buying an additional 341,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 140.2% during the first quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 294,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $57,320,000 after acquiring an additional 171,743 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

Avis Budget Group Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Avis Budget Group stock opened at $122.46 on Monday. Avis Budget Group has a 52-week low of $99.60 and a 52-week high of $244.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $129.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.09. The company has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 2.21.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $7.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.15 by $2.95. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.81 billion. Avis Budget Group had a net margin of 13.59% and a negative return on equity of 696.69%. Avis Budget Group’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $10.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Avis Budget Group will post 15.7 EPS for the current fiscal 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.