As summer kicks off in earnest and more consumers take to the road, car-rental companies aim to take advantage of this prime vacation season.

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More competition — including from new, nontraditional players — is forcing rental companies to shift gears. The good news for investors in car-rental stocks such as Avis Budget Group NYSE: CAR , Hertz NYSE: HTZ , Dollar Thrifty NYSE: DTG and hourly rental innovator Zipcar NASDAQ: ZIP is that the market is staging a comeback after sluggish rates early this year.

Privately held Enterprise Holdings, which includes the Alamo, National and Enterprise brands, is the largest car-rental chain in the U. Enterprise is the largest company in the space, and bigger is often better when it comes to economies of scale. But since Enterprise is not publicly traded, investors have no way in.

HTZ , which includes Advantage Rent-A-Car, ranks second, with nearly , vehicles at more than 8, locations in countries. It has a price-to-earnings-growth PEG ratio of 0. Its forward P-E is a little above 9.

CAR ranks third, with about , vehicles and 10, rental locations in countries, though most of its rental operations are in North America, Europe and Australia. Test drives of as long as three days are available for a nominal rental fee. Its PEG ratio is a puny 0.

DTG boasts a fleet of about , vehicles at 1, corporate and franchised locations around the world, some of which are in the U. Both Hertz and Avis have spent nearly two years wooing DTG. Hertz recently opted to work through antitrust details with the Federal Trade Commission before stepping up to the plate to take another swing at a deal. This week it may have worked out a plan to put to rest any antitrust issues with the FTC by divesting its Advantage brand to U-Save.

It has a PEG ratio of 0.

The company boasts a subscription model: ZIP has a fleet of nearly 9, vehicles, primarily in urban areas and on college campuses. Finding a new business model in a mature business like rental cars is not easy, but Zipcar found the ultimate untapped niche: The concept is brilliant.

But the big question is whether the company can sustain its momentum. Hertz and Enterprise already are jumping into the hourly rental space.

It has a PEG ratio of 1. I rank Avis a close second, though, because of its vehicle sales and other innovations.

It also is going head-to-head with Zipcar on hourly rentals in big markets such as Washington, D. As of this writing, Susan J.

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Aluise did not hold a position in any of the stocks named here. Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, http: Financial Market Data powered by FinancialContent Services, Inc.

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