Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) Downgraded by StockNews.com

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on CAR. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Avis Budget Group from $120.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Avis Budget Group from $170.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $205.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $120.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $202.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.57.

Avis Budget Group Stock Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ:CAR opened at $84.63 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $102.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.00. Avis Budget Group has a 52 week low of $79.03 and a 52 week high of $233.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 2.21.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The business services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by ($2.19). Avis Budget Group had a net margin of 10.05% and a negative return on equity of 480.48%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $11.01 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avis Budget Group will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Avis Budget Group by 1,345.4% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 2,341 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Avis Budget Group in the 4th quarter worth $12,317,000. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Avis Budget Group in the 4th quarter worth $313,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Avis Budget Group in the 4th quarter worth $922,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Avis Budget Group in the 4th quarter worth $687,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

About Avis Budget Group

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.