Insider Buying: KAR Auction Services, Inc. (NYSE:KAR) CEO Acquires 45,958 Shares of Stock

KAR Auction Services, Inc. (NYSE:KAR – Get Rating) CEO Peter J. Kelly purchased 45,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.10 per share, for a total transaction of $602,049.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 274,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,602,211.80. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

KAR opened at $13.58 on Friday. KAR Auction Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.76 and a fifty-two week high of $22.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $16.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.78.

KAR Auction Services (NYSE:KAR – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 3rd. The specialty retailer reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.15). KAR Auction Services had a return on equity of 3.35% and a net margin of 0.75%. The business had revenue of $369.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $559.77 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that KAR Auction Services, Inc. will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of KAR Auction Services by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 83,988 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,377,000 after purchasing an additional 15,180 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of KAR Auction Services by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 690,398 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $11,314,000 after purchasing an additional 105,651 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of KAR Auction Services by 55.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 197,756 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,241,000 after purchasing an additional 70,552 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of KAR Auction Services by 62.6% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 30,592 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $501,000 after purchasing an additional 11,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of KAR Auction Services by 47,688.4% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,723,937 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $44,645,000 after purchasing an additional 2,718,237 shares in the last quarter.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of KAR Auction Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 28th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of KAR Auction Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 5th. CJS Securities upgraded shares of KAR Auction Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 4th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of KAR Auction Services from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 25th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of KAR Auction Services from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.83.

KAR Auction Services Company Profile (Get Rating)

KAR Auction Services, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides used vehicle auctions and related vehicle remarketing services for the automotive industry in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. The company operates through two segments, ADESA Auctions and AFC. The ADESA Auctions segment offers whole car auctions and related services to the vehicle remarketing industry through online auctions and auction facilities.

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