Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) Reaches New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $197.99 and last traded at $194.89, with a volume of 71852 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $192.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $100.00 to $87.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $196.00 price objective (up previously from $130.00) on shares of Avis Budget Group in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avis Budget Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avis Budget Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $127.60.

Avis Budget Group Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.05 and a beta of 2.19. The company's 50 day moving average is $141.91 and its 200 day moving average is $102.11.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. Avis Budget Group had a negative return on equity of 14.74% and a negative net margin of 18.96%. The business's revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($3.21) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avis Budget Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAR. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 35,100 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,829,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Avis Budget Group during the first quarter worth approximately $274,000. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Avis Budget Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $460,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Avis Budget Group by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 156,176 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $12,589,000 after acquiring an additional 27,127 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Avis Budget Group in the 4th quarter valued at $11,234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.35% of the company's stock.

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.