Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $17.30.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CARS. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 target price (up from $21.00) on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Cars.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Cars.com from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Cars.com from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th.

Cars.com Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of CARS opened at $12.75 on Wednesday. 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 has a market capitalization of $783.36 million, a P/E ratio of 20.56 and a beta of 1.78. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.98. Cars.com has a twelve month low of $9.56 and a twelve month high of $20.47.

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 firm had revenue of $178.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period last year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cars.com will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cars.com news, insider Matthew B. Crawford sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.77, for a total value of $176,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 98,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,158,885.97. This trade represents a 13.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Cars.com by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 55,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $970,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Cars.com by 2.0% during the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 41,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cars.com by 22.9% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Cars.com by 4.4% during the second quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 34,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Cars.com by 30.0% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623 shares in the last quarter. 89.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.