Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 7,725 Shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 296,907 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,725 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.47% of Cars.com worth $3,346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 813.0% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,878 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Cars.com by 624.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 4,043 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Cars.com by 184.5% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 2,254 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Cars.com in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cars.com during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $132,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CARS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Cars.com from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group cut their price target on Cars.com from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cars.com has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.30.

Cars.com Stock Performance

Shares of CARS opened at $12.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65. Cars.com Inc. has a one year low of $9.56 and a one year high of $21.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $825.13 million, a P/E ratio of 19.10 and a beta of 1.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $11.16 and a 200 day moving average of $13.09.

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 company had revenue of $179.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $179.82 million. Cars.com had a net margin of 6.32% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cars.com

In other news, CEO Thomas Alex Vetter acquired 27,870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $10.75 per share, with a total value of $299,602.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 844,897 shares in the company, valued at $9,082,642.75. This trade represents a 3.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.39% of the company’s stock.

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.