Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) Upgraded at Northcoast Research

Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $155.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group from $230.00 to $190.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Avis Budget Group from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Avis Budget Group from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Avis Budget Group from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the company from $234.00 to $248.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Avis Budget Group in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a buy rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. One equities 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $187.43.

Avis Budget Group Trading Up 4.0 %

CAR opened at $123.23 on Monday. Avis Budget Group has a 1-year low of $99.60 and a 1-year high of $244.95. The company has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 2.21. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $131.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.93.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $7.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.15 by $2.95. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. Avis Budget Group had a net margin of 13.59% and a negative return on equity of 696.69%. The business’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $10.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Avis Budget Group will post 15.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avis Budget Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in Avis Budget Group by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,363,042 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $460,321,000 after acquiring an additional 22,518 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Avis Budget Group by 70.4% during the 1st quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 1,534,724 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $298,964,000 after purchasing an additional 634,040 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Avis Budget Group by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,458,488 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $384,020,000 after purchasing an additional 16,655 shares in the last quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Avis Budget Group by 16.1% during the 4th 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, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Avis Budget Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 622,685 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $163,952,000 after purchasing an additional 3,626 shares in the last quarter. 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.