Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $17.70.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CARS shares. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Cars.com in a report on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Cars.com from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cars.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Cars.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th.

Cars.com Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE CARS opened at $12.25 on Tuesday. Cars.com has a 12 month low of $9.56 and a 12 month high of $19.00. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $11.87 and a 200-day moving average of $12.20. The company has a market cap of $732.37 million, a PE ratio of 26.62 and a beta of 1.45.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $181.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $181.37 million. Cars.com had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 4.16%.The business’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cars.com will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cars.com

In related news, CFO Sonia Jain sold 11,400 shares of Cars.com stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.45, for a total transaction of $153,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 243,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,276,984.90. The trade was a 4.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Matthew B. Crawford sold 27,358 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.03, for a total transaction of $329,116.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 71,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $855,369.09. This trade represents a 27.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cars.com

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Cars.com by 33.7% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 557,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,626,000 after buying an additional 140,493 shares in the last quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 321,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,816,000 after acquiring an additional 31,548 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Cars.com by 71.3% during the 1st quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 102,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,154,000 after acquiring an additional 42,641 shares in the last quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Cars.com in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,210,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Cars.com by 53.4% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 57,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $677,000 after purchasing an additional 19,894 shares in the last quarter. 89.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Cars.com

Cars.com operates as a leading online automotive marketplace in the United States, connecting car shoppers with new and used vehicle listings from dealerships and private sellers. The platform enables consumers to research makes and models, compare prices, read expert and user reviews, and access tools such as TrueCost to estimate ownership expenses over time. Through its website and mobile applications, Cars.com aims to simplify the car-buying process by aggregating detailed vehicle data, payment calculators, and dealership ratings into a single user-friendly experience.

On the dealer side, Cars.com provides a suite of marketing and lead-generation services designed to help automotive retailers reach potential buyers and manage their online presence.