Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $14.6667.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research upped their target price on Cars.com from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Cars.com from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Cars.com from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Cars.com from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, B. Riley Financial cut 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.

Cars.com Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of Cars.com stock opened at $12.91 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $10.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Cars.com has a twelve month low of $7.40 and a twelve month high of $13.97. The stock has a market cap of $721.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.02 and a beta of 1.59.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.03). Cars.com had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The company had revenue of $180.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.16 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Cars.com will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Sonia Jain sold 34,021 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.49, for a total transaction of $322,859.29. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 312,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,968,785.17. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cars.com

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CARS. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in Cars.com by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 38,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd increased its position in shares of Cars.com by 12.3% during the third quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 12,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,367 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Cars.com by 3.3% during the third quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 43,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,386 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Cars.com by 30.0% during 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. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its stake in shares of Cars.com by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 36,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 1,859 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.15% of the company’s stock.

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.