Park Avenue Securities LLC Buys 3,222 Shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) by 17.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,224 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,222 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Cars.com were worth $239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 8,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 1,592 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 289,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,012,000 after buying an additional 2,522 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in Cars.com by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 53,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $925,000 after purchasing an additional 4,387 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP boosted its position in Cars.com by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 43,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 16,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Cars.com by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 1,516 shares during the last quarter. 89.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Cars.com from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Cars.com from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on Cars.com from $21.00 to $14.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.30.

Cars.com Stock Performance

CARS opened at $10.46 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.05. The company has a market capitalization of $664.76 million, a PE ratio of 18.04 and a beta of 1.83. Cars.com Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.56 and a 1 year high of $21.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $179.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $179.82 million. Cars.com had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 9.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Cars.com

In related news, CEO Thomas Alex Vetter bought 27,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $10.75 per share, for a total transaction of $299,602.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 844,897 shares in the company, valued at $9,082,642.75. The trade was a 3.41% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cars.com Company Profile

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.