Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of 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. Currently, 7.4% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 685,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Institutional Trading of Avis Budget Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAR. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its stake in Avis Budget Group by 198.3% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 361 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 293.3% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 180.0% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 714 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Avis Budget Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $75,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Avis Budget Group by 184.5% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 725 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.35% of the company's stock.

Avis Budget Group Stock Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ CAR traded down $1.40 during trading on Monday, hitting $90.79. The stock had a trading volume of 649,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 709,820. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $93.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.27. Avis Budget Group has a twelve month low of $65.73 and a twelve month high of $195.05. The company has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 8.29 and a beta of 2.20.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The business services provider reported $6.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $3.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $16.78 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avis Budget Group will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Avis Budget Group from $145.00 to $143.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Barclays began coverage on shares of Avis Budget Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Avis Budget Group from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Avis Budget Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $133.75.

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.