Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) Receives $14.83 Consensus PT from Analysts

Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $14.8333.

A number of research firms have issued reports on CARS. B. Riley Financial downgraded Cars.com from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Cars.com from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Cars.com in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Cars.com from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Cars.com from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th.

Cars.com Stock Down 0.4%

Cars.com stock opened at $12.22 on Wednesday. Cars.com has a 1-year low of $7.40 and a 1-year high of $13.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $654.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.44 and a beta of 1.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $11.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. Cars.com had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 18.82%. The firm had revenue of $179.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.53 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cars.com will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cars.com

In other Cars.com news, CFO Sonia Jain sold 52,579 shares of Cars.com stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.56, for a total transaction of $502,655.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 346,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,315,924.24. The trade was a 13.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Angelique Strong Marks sold 57,980 shares of Cars.com stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.94, for a total transaction of $692,281.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 149,636 shares in the company, valued at $1,786,653.84. This represents a 27.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 144,580 shares of company stock worth $1,517,796. Company insiders own 3.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CARS. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its position in shares of Cars.com by 487.0% during the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 160,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,953,000 after buying an additional 133,002 shares in the last quarter. Kestrel Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Cars.com in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,752,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 77.9% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 580,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,711,000 after acquiring an additional 253,991 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Cars.com in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,055,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of Cars.com by 83.3% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 191,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,330,000 after acquiring an additional 86,800 shares during the last quarter. 89.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cars.com

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.