Shellback Capital LP Makes New Investment in Avis Budget Group, Inc. $CAR

Key Points

• Shellback Capital LP has acquired a new position in Avis Budget Group, purchasing 50,000 shares valued at approximately $3,795,000, which represents 0.14% ownership in the company.
• Avis Budget Group reported $0.10 earnings per share, missing analyst expectations, despite having a revenue of $3.04 billion, which slightly surpassed estimates.
• Institutional investors own around 96.35% of Avis Budget Group's stock, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.

Shellback Capital LP purchased a new stake in Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 50,000 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,795,000. Shellback Capital LP owned 0.14% of Avis Budget Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CAR. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 106.9% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 478 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 421.1% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 839 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 399.5% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 909 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $104,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $112,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avis Budget Group

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

Avis Budget Group Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:CAR traded down $2.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $154.86. 155,853 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,243,001. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $123.70. Avis Budget Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.03 and a fifty-two week high of $212.81. The company has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of -2.45 and a beta of 2.11.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.02 by ($1.92). Avis Budget Group had a negative return on equity of 14.74% and a negative net margin of 19.06%.The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. Avis Budget Group's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 8.91 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Avis Budget Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and issued a $196.00 price objective (up from $130.00) on shares of Avis Budget Group in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $113.00 price objective (down from $120.00) on shares of Avis Budget Group in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "sell" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (up from $87.00) on shares of Avis Budget Group in a report on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $143.80.

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.