Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) released its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.02), Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $181.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $181.37 million. Cars.com had a net margin of 5.71% and a return on equity of 17.43%. Cars.com’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share.

Cars.com Price Performance

Cars.com stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $11.14. The company had a trading volume of 1,590,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 816,485. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.82. Cars.com has a 12-month low of $9.56 and a 12-month high of $20.47. The company has a market capitalization of $684.19 million, a P/E ratio of 17.96 and a beta of 1.74. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on CARS. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price target (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Cars.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cars.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Cars.com from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cars.com has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.90.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cars.com

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Cars.com by 143.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 531,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,495,000 after acquiring an additional 313,128 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 62.7% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 56,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 21,603 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Cars.com during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $115,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Cars.com by 4.4% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 197,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 8,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 6.4% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 76,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $912,000 after purchasing an additional 4,629 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.15% of the company’s stock.

About Cars.com

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.