Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) Receives $14.83 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $14.8333.

CARS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Cars.com from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cars.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Cars.com from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th.

Cars.com Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CARS opened at $11.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 2.00. Cars.com has a 1 year low of $7.40 and a 1 year high of $13.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $606.58 million, a PE ratio of 19.88 and a beta of 1.59. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $11.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.46.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.51. The firm had revenue of $179.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.53 million. Cars.com had a return on equity of 18.82% and a net margin of 4.73%.The firm’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cars.com will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Cars.com

In related news, Director Jr. Donald A. Mcgovern sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.25, for a total value of $98,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 102,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,260,525. This trade represents a 7.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Angelique Marks sold 57,980 shares of Cars.com stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.94, for a total value of $692,281.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 149,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,786,653.84. The trade was a 27.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cars.com

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pale Fire Capital SE grew its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 1.3% in the second quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 4,008,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,850,000 after purchasing an additional 51,600 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Cars.com by 8.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,401,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,620,000 after purchasing an additional 262,443 shares during the period. Breach Inlet Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Cars.com in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,899,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Cars.com by 77.9% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 580,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,711,000 after purchasing an additional 253,991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cars.com by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 440,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,579,000 after buying an additional 63,234 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.15% of the company’s stock.

About Cars.com

Cars.com Inc (NYSE:CARS) operates a digital automotive marketplace that connects consumers with automobile dealers and manufacturers. Its platform helps shoppers research vehicles, compare listings, read reviews, explore pricing and incentives, and connect with dealerships when they are ready to buy or sell a vehicle.

The company provides automotive retailers with digital marketing and technology solutions designed to help them attract and engage customers. Its offerings include vehicle listings, dealer websites, digital retailing tools, customer relationship and lead-management services, reputation management, and advertising solutions.