Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $117.00.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CAR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Avis Budget Group from $100.00 to $87.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avis Budget Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 3rd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CAR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 2.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,610,186 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $122,213,000 after purchasing an additional 46,038 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 93.2% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 490,473 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $39,537,000 after purchasing an additional 236,576 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 266.7% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 330,000 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,601,000 after purchasing an additional 240,000 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV boosted its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 310.4% during the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 325,000 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,198,000 after purchasing an additional 245,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steadfast Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Avis Budget Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,747,000. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avis Budget Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CAR traded up $8.78 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $117.75. 2,240,394 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 886,721. Avis Budget Group has a one year low of $54.03 and a one year high of $117.77. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.15. The stock has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.27 and a beta of 2.10.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported ($14.35) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($5.72) by ($8.63). Avis Budget Group had a negative return on equity of 14.74% and a negative net margin of 15.45%. The firm had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($3.21) EPS. Avis Budget Group's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Avis Budget Group will post 8.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Avis Budget Group

Avis Budget Group, Inc engages in the provision of vehicle sharing and rental services. It operates through the following segments: Americas, International, and Corporate and Other. The Americas segment includes the vehicle rental and car sharing operations in North America, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.