Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) Stock Rating Lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group

Key Points

• The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Avis Budget Group's stock rating from "neutral" to "sell," lowering the price target to $105.00, indicating a potential downside of 38.32% from its current price.
• Other analysts have mixed views, with JPMorgan restating a "neutral" rating at a target of $155.00, while Deutsche Bank upgraded to "buy" with a target of $196.00.
• Avis Budget Group reported earnings of $0.10 per share for the last quarter, significantly missing analysts' expectations of $2.02, alongside a negative net margin of 19.06%.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $105.00 price objective on the business services provider's stock, up from their previous price objective of $87.00. The Goldman Sachs Group's price target suggests a potential downside of 36.00% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on CAR. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $196.00 target price (up previously from $130.00) on shares of Avis Budget Group in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Avis Budget Group in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Avis Budget Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $131.20.

Avis Budget Group Stock Performance

Shares of Avis Budget Group stock traded down $6.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $164.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,787,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,115,597. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $159.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.84. Avis Budget Group has a 12-month low of $54.03 and a 12-month high of $212.81. The company has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a PE ratio of -2.59 and a beta of 2.19.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Avis Budget Group will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avis Budget Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of Avis Budget Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $452,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Avis Budget Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,297,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 279.7% during the 2nd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 12,311 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,081,000 after acquiring an additional 9,069 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Avis Budget Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $330,000. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Avis Budget Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,352,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.