Short Interest in Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) Decreases By 7.8%

Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,540,000 shares, a decrease of 7.8% from the August 31st total of 1,670,000 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 572,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Insider Activity at Cars.com

In related news, CEO Thomas Alex Vetter sold 17,674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.23, for a total transaction of $339,871.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 598,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,517,500.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cars.com

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cars.com in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Cars.com during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. CWM LLC grew its position in Cars.com by 253.2% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,575 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its position in Cars.com by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 10,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,000 after acquiring an additional 1,922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in Cars.com during the 1st quarter worth approximately $177,000. 89.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CARS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on Cars.com from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. B. Riley cut their price target on Cars.com from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Cars.com from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $25.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a report on Friday, August 23rd.

Cars.com Price Performance

Shares of CARS traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $16.60. The company had a trading volume of 631,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 474,536. Cars.com has a twelve month low of $14.82 and a twelve month high of $21.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The company’s 50-day moving average is $17.89 and its 200-day moving average is $18.16. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 2.11.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.06). Cars.com had a return on equity of 6.70% and a net margin of 3.51%. The company had revenue of $178.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $181.51 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cars.com will post 1.22 EPS for the current year.

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.