Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) Shares Down 5% on Analyst Downgrade

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR - Get Free Report) traded down 5% on Thursday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on the stock from $202.00 to $183.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a buy rating on the stock. Avis Budget Group traded as low as $100.13 and last traded at $100.13. 410,234 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 822,222 shares. The stock had previously closed at $105.35.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Avis Budget Group from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Avis Budget Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $118.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Avis Budget Group from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Bank of America started coverage on Avis Budget Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Avis Budget Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $172.86.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avis Budget Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 101.0% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 209 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 15,550.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 313 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group in the first quarter worth about $70,000. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group in the fourth quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group in the fourth quarter worth about $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company's stock.

Avis Budget Group Stock Down 3.2 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $117.15 and a 200 day moving average of $156.51. The firm has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 2.22.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $7.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.15 by $2.95. Avis Budget Group had a negative return on equity of 696.69% and a net margin of 13.59%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $10.46 earnings per share. Avis Budget Group's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 15.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avis Budget Group Company Profile

Avis Budget Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides car and truck rentals, car sharing, and ancillary products and services to businesses and consumers in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia, and Australasia. It operates the Avis brand, that offers vehicle rental and other mobility solutions to the premium commercial and leisure segments of the travel industry; and the Zipcar brand, a car sharing network, as well as the Budget brand, a supplier of vehicle rental and other mobility solutions focused primarily on more value-conscious customers comprising Budget car rental, and Budget Truck, a local, and one-way truck and cargo van rental businesses with a fleet of approximately 19,000 vehicles, which are rented through a network of dealer-operated and company-operated locations that serve the light commercial and consumer sectors in the continental United States.