Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) Short Interest Down 9.6% in June

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,010,000 shares, a decline of 9.6% from the June 15th total of 3,330,000 shares. Approximately 8.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 687,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Institutional Trading of Avis Budget Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAR. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Avis Budget Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $306,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new position in Avis Budget Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Avis Budget Group by 133.0% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 22,775 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,789,000 after acquiring an additional 13,000 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Avis Budget Group by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,759 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in Avis Budget Group in the 1st quarter valued at $595,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

Avis Budget Group Stock Performance

Shares of CAR traded up $1.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $112.13. 498,375 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 754,858. The company has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 2.21. Avis Budget Group has a 52-week low of $93.53 and a 52-week high of $244.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $110.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.45.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported ($3.21) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($2.65) by ($0.56). Avis Budget Group had a net margin of 10.05% and a negative return on equity of 480.48%. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.72 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Avis Budget Group will post 12.4 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CAR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Avis Budget Group from $202.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Avis Budget Group from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com cut Avis Budget Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Avis Budget Group from $190.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Avis Budget Group from $170.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avis Budget Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.14.

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.