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

Shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $16.0833.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CARS shares. Zacks Research downgraded Cars.com from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Cars.com from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, BTIG Research cut their target price on shares of Cars.com from $17.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Cars.com by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,139,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,296,000 after buying an additional 39,173 shares during the period. Par Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cars.com by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,697,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,911,000 after buying an additional 639,000 shares during the period. Hill Path Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Cars.com by 23.2% during the third quarter. Hill Path Capital LP now owns 2,481,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,318,000 after buying an additional 468,000 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Cars.com in the second quarter valued at approximately $16,456,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Cars.com by 13.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,203,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,708,000 after acquiring an additional 138,229 shares during the last quarter. 89.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cars.com Trading Down 3.1%

Shares of CARS opened at $7.91 on Friday. Cars.com has a 12-month low of $7.40 and a 12-month high of $13.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $463.55 million, a P/E ratio of 24.70 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $10.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.12). Cars.com had a net margin of 2.77% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company had revenue of $183.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.44 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cars.com will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Cars.com Company Profile

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.