The Street has its eyes on the rental car industry as Hertz
Global (NYSE:
HTZ
), Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:
CAR
), Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group (NYSE:
DTG
) and Zipcar (NASDAQ:
ZIP
) report earnings this week.
Amid concerns of softening across the sector due in part to
macro outlook and automobile pricing trends, investors may
additionally be looking to earnings in the industry on
renewed chatter
of a Dollar Thrifty and Hertz merger.
Although the latter's bid in May of
$72 per share
for Dollar Thrifty was denied, the more than two-year conversation
may be far from over.
Below are earnings expectations for the four above
companies:
Hertz Global
Hertz Global leads the pack into earnings with its announcement
Monday, July 30, after market close. Analysts expect the company to
post earnings per share (
EPS
) of $0.32 on revenue of $2.24 billion.
Aside from May's rejected acquisition bid on Dollar Thrifty,
recent news from Hertz Global includes phase two of the company's
solar energy program and the addition of Porsche vehicles in its
rental fleet - making it the first U.S. rental company to offer the
car.
The company's equipment rental arm purchased construction
equipment rental company Arpielle Equipment in March 2012.
Shares of Hertz Global are down around 2 percent year-to-date
(YTD) leading into Monday trading, and closed Friday up more than 7
percent. The company's market cap of $4.81 billion makes it the
largest of the four rental companies covered, and its beta of 2.57
is smaller than both Avis Budget and Dollar Thrifty.
Avis Budget Group
Avis Budget Group is slated to report its second-quarter 2012
earnings Wednesday, August 1, after market close. Analyst consensus
is 70 cents per share on revenues of $1.91 billion, up from
consensus of 44 cents during the past three months. Avis Budget
reported net EPS of $0.12 on revenue of $1.6 billion in
first-quarter 2012, an increase of 31 percent from the year-ago
period.
Shares of Avis Budget are up more than 36 percent YTD entering
Monday's markets, closing Friday up more than 9 percent. With a
beta of 4.83, shares of the company may be more receptive to
sympathetic movement this week as the various companies
announce.
Last year's acquisition attempts by Hertz of Dollar Thrifty
caused a bidding war as Avis Budget stepped in to counter offers.
Although no recent bid for the company has been reported by Avis,
it may be another reason to keep the company on any related watch
list.
Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group
Dollar Thrifty will report its second quarter earnings
Wednesday, August 1, before market open. The company operates
vehicle rental services through its Dollar and Thrifty brands.
Analysts expect Dollar Thrifty to report EPS of $1.24 on revenue
of $408.4 million. The company has announced increased revenues for
the past three quarters.
Recent news on Dollar Thrifty includes the company's
announcement of nine new stores across its brands in June.
Pentwater Capital recently increased its purchasing activity of
the stock - making the hedge fund a more than 11 percent owner as
of earlier in July,
according to Marketwatch
.
Shares of Dollar Thrifty closed Friday up around 4 percent, and
up around 8 percent YTD heading into Monday trading. The company
has a beta of 3.55 and with a recent drop to $73 - a level not
traded at since January 2012 - shares may have room for growth.
Zipcar
Zipcar's earnings release is scheduled for Thursday, August 2
after market close. Goldman Sachs published a report Monday
previewing Zipcar's earnings, stating that it expects "solid
year-over-year progress" from earnings as well as an update on the
company's European strategy. Goldman Sachs established a $22 price
target on Zipcar in the report.
Zipcar provided Q2 guidance in April, expecting revenue between
$71 million and $74 million. Analysts are looking for revenue of
$73 million.
With a market cap of less than $500 million, Zipcar is the
smallest by capitalization of the four - although also the youngest
in the markets, with its IPO in April 2011. Shares of the company
are down more than 17 percent YTD leading into Monday trading and
closed up more than 6 percent Friday.
Recent news from Zipcar includes its acquisition of Austrian car
sharing service Denzel Mobility CarSharing GmbH in July and
February's investment in peer-to-peer car sharing company
Wheelz.
The company reported first quarter EPS of $-0.08 versus analyst
expectations of $-0.11, earning it a more than 27 percent surprise
for the quarter.
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