Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) Short Interest Update

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,100,000 shares, an increase of 11.1% from the August 31st total of 2,790,000 shares. Currently, 9.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 627,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.9 days.

Avis Budget Group Stock Performance

Shares of CAR traded down $3.19 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $84.40. The company had a trading volume of 99,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 715,720. The company has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 2.14. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $85.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.28. Avis Budget Group has a 1-year low of $65.73 and a 1-year high of $204.77.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The business services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by ($2.19). Avis Budget Group had a negative return on equity of 230.71% and a net margin of 6.58%. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $11.01 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Avis Budget Group will post 7.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on CAR. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Avis Budget Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Avis Budget Group from $120.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Avis Budget Group from $120.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group from $155.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $205.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avis Budget Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 2.2% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 4,573 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC increased its position in Avis Budget Group by 94.1% during the 1st quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 231 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 119.2% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 228 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.