Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) Hits New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $123.24 and last traded at $122.57, with a volume of 1113174 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $119.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on CAR shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avis Budget Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group from $100.00 to $87.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avis Budget Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $117.00.

Avis Budget Group Trading Up 1.9%

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.35 and a beta of 2.10. The stock's 50 day moving average is $91.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.09.

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). The company 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 15.45%. Avis Budget Group's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($3.21) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAR. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 7,973 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $643,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 7,623 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $579,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 7,592 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $612,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 681 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,922 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. 96.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avis Budget Group Company Profile

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.