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

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,100,000 shares, an increase of 11.1% from the August 31st total of 2,790,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 627,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.9 days. Currently, 9.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avis Budget Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in 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 valued at $450,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Avis Budget Group during the fourth quarter worth $30,234,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 15,550.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 313 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $10,636,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,825,000. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avis Budget Group Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CAR traded down $3.19 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $84.40. 99,513 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 715,720. The company has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 2.14. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $85.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.28. Avis Budget Group has a one year low of $65.73 and a one year high of $204.77.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The business services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.60 by ($2.19). Avis Budget Group had a net margin of 6.58% and a negative return on equity of 230.71%. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $11.01 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Avis Budget Group will post 7.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Avis Budget Group from $120.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Avis Budget Group from $155.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Avis Budget Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $120.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $205.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avis Budget Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.50.

Avis Budget Group Company Profile

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.