Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) Stock Price Down 7% on Analyst Downgrade

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR)’s stock price fell 7% during trading on Tuesday after Susquehanna lowered their price target on the stock from $145.00 to $117.00. Susquehanna currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Avis Budget Group traded as low as $96.11 and last traded at $96.30. 261,505 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 817,998 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.56.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Avis Budget Group from $190.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Avis Budget Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 25th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Avis Budget Group in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered 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 research note on Thursday, April 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.86.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avis Budget Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Avis Budget Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,892,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 1,573.0% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 362,965 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $64,799,000 after purchasing an additional 341,269 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Avis Budget Group in the fourth quarter worth $30,234,000. Par Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Avis Budget Group by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. now owns 848,959 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $150,486,000 after purchasing an additional 117,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in Avis Budget Group by 63.1% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 289,648 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $52,047,000 after purchasing an additional 112,073 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

Avis Budget Group Trading Down 6.7 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 2.22.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $7.10 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $10.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 14.73 earnings per share for the current 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.