Avis Budget Group's (CAR) Underperform Rating Reiterated at Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America has reiterated an "underperform" rating for Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ: CAR), reducing its price target from $120.00 to $113.00, indicating a potential downside of 27.85% from the stock's previous close.
• Avis Budget Group's recent earnings report showed a significant miss in earnings per share (EPS), with reported EPS of $0.10 compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02.
• Despite the negative outlook from Bank of America, other analysts have shown more optimism, with varying ratings ranging from "buy" to "hold" and price targets reaching as high as $196.00.

Bank of America restated their underperform rating on shares of Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR - Free Report) in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $113.00 price target on the business services provider's stock, down from their previous price target of $120.00.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on CAR. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $196.00 price target (up previously from $130.00) on shares of Avis Budget Group in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Avis Budget Group in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on Avis Budget Group from $105.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avis Budget Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $105.00 price objective (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Avis Budget Group in a report on Friday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $143.80.

Avis Budget Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CAR traded down $1.98 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $153.51. 175,771 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,286,103. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.43 and a beta of 2.19. The business's fifty day moving average price is $170.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.60. Avis Budget Group has a twelve month low of $54.03 and a twelve month high of $212.81.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($1.92). The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. Avis Budget Group had a negative return on equity of 14.74% and a negative net margin of 19.06%.Avis Budget Group's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. Analysts predict that Avis Budget Group will post 8.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Avis Budget Group

In other Avis Budget Group news, EVP Edward P. Linnen sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.83, for a total value of $1,568,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,416,699.45. This represents a 19.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bernardo Hees sold 402,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total transaction of $62,980,498.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 116,521 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,246,023.39. The trade was a 77.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 52.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAR. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Avis Budget Group by 48,706.7% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,552,542 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $256,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,549,361 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Avis Budget Group by 166.7% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 880,239 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $148,804,000 after acquiring an additional 550,239 shares during the last quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Avis Budget Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,747,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new position in Avis Budget Group in the first quarter valued at about $18,975,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Avis Budget Group by 93.2% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 490,473 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $39,537,000 after acquiring an additional 236,576 shares during the last quarter. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.