Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) Stock Price Up 7.5% – Here’s Why

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) traded up 7.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $106.60 and last traded at $106.60. 334,303 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 721,180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CAR. StockNews.com raised Avis Budget Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Avis Budget Group from $120.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group from $145.00 to $143.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Avis Budget Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.13.

Avis Budget Group Trading Up 0.9 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $84.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.31. The stock has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.73 and a beta of 2.14.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The business services provider reported $6.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.55 by ($1.90). The business had revenue of $3.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. Avis Budget Group had a negative return on equity of 101.41% and a net margin of 3.34%. Avis Budget Group’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $16.78 EPS. Research analysts predict that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avis Budget Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CAR. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Avis Budget Group by 77.8% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 1,977 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 70,663.6% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 7,784 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $954,000 after acquiring an additional 7,773 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 55.7% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 26,950 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,300,000 after purchasing an additional 9,640 shares during the period. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its position in Avis Budget Group by 9.4% during the first quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 10,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.