Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

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

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CAR. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Avis Budget Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Avis Budget Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $234.00 to $248.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Avis Budget Group from $230.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Avis Budget Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group in the first quarter worth approximately $270,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its stake in Avis Budget Group by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 26,716 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,275,000 after buying an additional 1,999 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 246.2% in the 1st quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 6,685 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,760,000 after buying an additional 4,754 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 11,383 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,997,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Utah Retirement Systems purchased a new position in Avis Budget Group in the first quarter worth $1,369,000. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avis Budget Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CAR opened at $122.46 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a PE ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 2.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.09. Avis Budget Group has a 12 month low of $99.60 and a 12 month high of $244.95.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $7.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.15 by $2.95. Avis Budget Group had a net margin of 13.59% and a negative return on equity of 696.69%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $10.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Avis Budget Group will post 15.7 EPS for the current year.

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.