Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) has received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $143.80.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CAR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Avis Budget Group in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays upped their price target on Avis Budget Group from $105.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Avis Budget Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $113.00 price target (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Avis Budget Group in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Avis Budget Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st.

Avis Budget Group Price Performance

Shares of CAR opened at $161.27 on Monday. Avis Budget Group has a 1 year low of $54.03 and a 1 year high of $212.81. The company has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.55 and a beta of 2.12. The business has a 50-day moving average of $164.08 and a 200-day moving average of $130.90.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($1.92). The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Avis Budget Group had a negative return on equity of 14.74% and a negative net margin of 19.06%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avis Budget Group will post 8.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avis Budget Group

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAR. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 77.7% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,825 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Avis Budget Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,628,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 166.7% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 880,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $148,804,000 after acquiring an additional 550,239 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury bought a new stake in Avis Budget Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,100,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Avis Budget Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $330,000. 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.