Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) Raised to Hold at Barclays

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Barclays from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on CAR. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Avis Budget Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Avis Budget Group in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Avis Budget Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $127.75.

Avis Budget Group Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of CAR opened at $179.10 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $228.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.40 and a beta of 1.87. Avis Budget Group has a 1-year low of $85.96 and a 1-year high of $847.70.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported ($8.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($6.82) by ($1.19). The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($14.35) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Avis Budget Group will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avis Budget Group news, EVP Edward P. Linnen sold 9,483 shares of Avis Budget Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.32, for a total value of $1,728,940.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,915,762.24. The trade was a 20.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Ravi Simhambhatla sold 3,469 shares of Avis Budget Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.09, for a total transaction of $638,608.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,554,432.84. This trade represents a 20.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,299 shares of company stock valued at $3,836,012. Insiders own 50.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAR. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,964,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $380,444,000 after purchasing an additional 804,814 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 539,395 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $69,215,000 after purchasing an additional 154,994 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 287.5% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 11,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 8,304 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 203.8% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 37,467 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,016,000 after purchasing an additional 25,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $97,951,000. 96.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Avis Budget Group

Avis Budget Group, Inc operates as a leading global provider of vehicle rental and mobility solutions. Through its two core brands, Avis® and Budget®, the company offers a broad range of rental options including daily, weekly and monthly car rentals for leisure and business travelers. In addition to traditional airport and off-airport car rental services, Avis Budget Group delivers innovative mobility platforms such as car-sharing programs and connected fleet solutions designed to meet the evolving needs of corporate, government and individual customers.

The company’s roots trace back to Avis Rent a Car, founded in 1946, and Budget Rent a Car, established in 1958.