Zacks Research Upgrades Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) to “Strong-Buy”

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on CARS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Cars.com from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Cars.com from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. B. Riley Financial downgraded shares of Cars.com from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Cars.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a report on Friday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.67.

Cars.com Price Performance

NYSE:CARS opened at $9.88 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $9.44 and a 200-day moving average of $10.82. The company has a market capitalization of $552.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97 and a beta of 1.64. Cars.com has a 52 week low of $7.40 and a 52 week high of $13.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 1.87.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $180.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.16 million. Cars.com had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 3.73%.Cars.com’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cars.com will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cars.com

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CARS. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Cars.com by 30.0% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Cars.com by 436.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 6,475 shares during the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Cars.com in the third quarter worth about $100,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Cars.com in the second quarter worth about $115,000. Finally, AXA S.A. bought a new position in shares of Cars.com in the second quarter worth about $126,000. 89.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cars.com Company Profile

Cars.com operates as a leading online automotive marketplace in the United States, connecting car shoppers with new and used vehicle listings from dealerships and private sellers. The platform enables consumers to research makes and models, compare prices, read expert and user reviews, and access tools such as TrueCost to estimate ownership expenses over time. Through its website and mobile applications, Cars.com aims to simplify the car-buying process by aggregating detailed vehicle data, payment calculators, and dealership ratings into a single user-friendly experience.

On the dealer side, Cars.com provides a suite of marketing and lead-generation services designed to help automotive retailers reach potential buyers and manage their online presence.