Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.90.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CARS shares. Zacks Research cut Cars.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Cars.com from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Cars.com from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hill Path Capital LP bought a new position in Cars.com in the second quarter valued at $23,854,000. Brown Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cars.com in the 2nd quarter worth about $16,456,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Cars.com by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,203,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,708,000 after purchasing an additional 138,229 shares during the last quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cars.com during the 2nd quarter valued at about $14,220,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Cars.com by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,057,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,920,000 after buying an additional 198,077 shares during the last quarter. 89.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cars.com Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE CARS opened at $11.35 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $11.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $678.88 million, a P/E ratio of 18.31 and a beta of 1.74. Cars.com has a 1 year low of $9.56 and a 1 year high of $20.47.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.02). Cars.com had a net margin of 5.71% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The company had revenue of $181.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $181.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. Cars.com’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cars.com will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.