Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $17.70.

Several brokerages have commented on CARS. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cars.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $13.50 price target on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Zacks Research cut Cars.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Cars.com in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Monday, November 3rd.

Cars.com Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE CARS opened at $13.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $807.48 million, a P/E ratio of 29.35 and a beta of 1.45. Cars.com has a fifty-two week low of $9.56 and a fifty-two week high of $19.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 1.82.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.02). Cars.com had a net margin of 4.16% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The business had revenue of $181.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $181.37 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. Cars.com’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Cars.com will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cars.com news, insider Matthew B. Crawford sold 27,358 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.03, for a total transaction of $329,116.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 71,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $855,369.09. This trade represents a 27.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cars.com

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CARS. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Cars.com by 33.7% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 557,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,626,000 after buying an additional 140,493 shares in the last quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cars.com by 10.9% in the second quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 321,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,816,000 after acquiring an additional 31,548 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Cars.com by 71.3% in the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 102,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,154,000 after acquiring an additional 42,641 shares during the last quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cars.com during the second quarter valued at $5,210,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cars.com in the 1st quarter worth about $325,000. Institutional investors own 89.15% of the company’s stock.

Cars.com Company Profile

Cars.com Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a digital automotive marketplace that connects local car dealers to consumers in the United States. The company offers a suite of digital solutions that creates connections between individuals researching cars or looking to purchase a car with car dealerships and automotive original equipment manufacturers.