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

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,330,000 shares, a growth of 8.1% from the May 31st total of 3,080,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 715,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.7 days. Approximately 9.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avis Budget Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Aigen Investment Management LP increased its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 1,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Avis Budget Group by 1.9% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 5,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in Avis Budget Group by 2.2% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 4,573 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Avis Budget Group Price Performance

Shares of CAR stock opened at $107.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 2.21. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.71. Avis Budget Group has a 1 year low of $93.53 and a 1 year high of $244.95.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported ($3.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Avis Budget Group will post 12.48 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CAR. StockNews.com downgraded Avis Budget Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group from $202.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group from $190.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Avis Budget Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $118.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Avis Budget Group from $145.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Avis Budget Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.57.

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.