Cars.com’s (CARS) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Barrington Research

Barrington Research restated their outperform rating on shares of Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $25.00 price target on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on CARS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Cars.com from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Cars.com from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cars.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cars.com currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.30.

Cars.com Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of CARS opened at $12.4550 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $12.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.27. Cars.com has a twelve month low of $9.56 and a twelve month high of $20.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $765.24 million, a P/E ratio of 20.09 and a beta of 1.76.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $178.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.43 million. Cars.com had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 5.71%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Cars.com will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Cars.com

In other news, insider Matthew B. Crawford sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.77, for a total value of $176,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 98,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,158,885.97. This trade represents a 13.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cars.com by 813.0% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,878 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Cars.com by 119.9% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 2,305 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Cars.com by 624.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 4,043 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Cars.com by 184.5% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 2,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Cars.com in the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. 89.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Cars.com

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.