Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) Stock Rating Upgraded by Northcoast Research

Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $155.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock.

CAR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Avis Budget Group from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the stock from $234.00 to $248.00 in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $230.00 to $190.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Avis Budget Group from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Avis Budget Group in a report on Thursday, December 7th. They set a sell rating and a $164.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Avis Budget Group has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $187.43.

Avis Budget Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CAR opened at $122.46 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $130.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 2.21. Avis Budget Group has a one year low of $99.60 and a one year high of $244.95.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. Avis Budget Group had a net margin of 13.59% and a negative return on equity of 696.69%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $10.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Avis Budget Group will post 15.7 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avis Budget Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 72,683 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,060,000 after acquiring an additional 18,167 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 165.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 25,571 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,595,000 after purchasing an additional 15,943 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC lifted its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 274.9% in the 3rd quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 8,502 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 6,234 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,022,000 after purchasing an additional 8,115 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 190,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,242,000 after purchasing an additional 17,082 shares during the period. 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.