Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) Short Interest Update

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) saw a significant decline in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,520,000 shares, a decline of 13.4% from the November 15th total of 2,910,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 685,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days. Currently, 7.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on CAR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Avis Budget Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays began coverage on Avis Budget Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Northcoast Research lowered Avis Budget Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Avis Budget Group from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.75.

Avis Budget Group Stock Performance

Shares of Avis Budget Group stock traded down $1.40 during trading on Monday, reaching $90.79. 545,669 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 708,446. Avis Budget Group has a 1-year low of $65.73 and a 1-year high of $195.05. The company has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.29 and a beta of 2.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $93.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.27.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The business services provider reported $6.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.55 by ($1.90). Avis Budget Group had a net margin of 3.34% and a negative return on equity of 101.41%. The business had revenue of $3.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $16.78 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Avis Budget Group will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avis Budget Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CAR. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 19,203.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 481,044 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $421,350,000 after acquiring an additional 478,552 shares during the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 220.9% in the 2nd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 690,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $72,147,000 after acquiring an additional 475,181 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Avis Budget Group during the second quarter worth about $19,978,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 4.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,354,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $293,825,000 after purchasing an additional 129,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Avis Budget Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $10,452,000. 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.