Sixt SE’s shares rose 3.9% on Tuesday after Berenberg upgraded the German car rental company to Buy from Hold, citing stronger summer travel demand in Europe, a more disciplined approach to U.S. residual-value risk and improved investor communications.
The upgrade follows a period in which Berenberg had been on the sidelines since May 2024, during which Sixt’s ordinary shares fell 10% while its preference shares gained 3%, underperforming the MDAX by 32% and 20%, respectively. Berenberg raised its price target for ordinary shares to €91 from €83 and for preference shares to €63 from €58.
The brokerage noted that Sixt’s shares trade below the five-year average price-to-earnings ratio of 14.5x for ordinary shares and 9.6x for preference shares, leaving room for a valuation re-rating. Berenberg also adjusted its financial estimates, forecasting total revenue of €4.65 billion in 2026, rising to €5.41 billion by 2028, which exceeds consensus estimates by 1.9% to 6.4% across the period.
Earnings before taxes are projected at €461.7 million in 2026, increasing to €583 million in 2028, while earnings per share are seen rising from €7.02 to €8.86 over the same horizon. Berenberg’s average sales forecast for 2026–2028 was raised by 2% and EBT by 3%, driven by stronger European assumptions offsetting weaker North American outlooks due to soft consumer sentiment and marketing costs.
Sixt reported second-quarter revenue of €1.189 billion, up 9.9% year-on-year, with Germany up 9.1%, Europe up 13% and North America up 6.3% on a reported basis, or 7.6% on a foreign-exchange-adjusted basis. Earnings before taxes reached €123 million, representing a 10.3% margin and meeting the company’s 2026 full-year target, according to Berenberg.
