Northcoast Research Downgrades Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) to Neutral

Northcoast Research cut shares of Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports.

CAR has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Avis Budget Group from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Barclays assumed coverage on Avis Budget Group in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised Avis Budget Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on Avis Budget Group from $120.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.13.

Avis Budget Group Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of Avis Budget Group stock opened at $101.64 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.28 and a beta of 2.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $87.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.20. Avis Budget Group has a 52-week low of $65.73 and a 52-week high of $204.77.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The business services provider reported $6.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.55 by ($1.90). Avis Budget Group had a negative return on equity of 101.41% and a net margin of 3.34%. The firm had revenue of $3.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $16.78 earnings per share. Avis Budget Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Avis Budget Group will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 119.2% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 228 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Avis Budget Group by 4.5% during the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Avis Budget Group by 5.2% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 198.3% in the third quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 361 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.