Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price target (down from $16.00) on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Cars.com in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Cars.com from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $13.50 target price on shares of Cars.com in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cars.com has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.08.

Cars.com Price Performance

Shares of CARS stock opened at $7.64 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $10.93 and its 200 day moving average is $11.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $447.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.86 and a beta of 1.50. Cars.com has a twelve month low of $7.53 and a twelve month high of $13.97.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.12). Cars.com had a net margin of 2.77% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The firm had revenue of $183.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Cars.com will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Sonia Jain sold 11,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.45, for a total value of $153,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 243,642 shares in the company, valued at $3,276,984.90. The trade was a 4.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cars.com by 27.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 1,279 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position 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. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Cars.com by 436.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 6,475 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Cars.com in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $100,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Cars.com in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $115,000. 89.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.