Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on Cars.com from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Friday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective (down from $16.00) on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Cars.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.00.

Cars.com Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of CARS opened at $10.61 on Wednesday. Cars.com has a twelve month low of $7.40 and a twelve month high of $13.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $622.35 million, a P/E ratio of 33.17 and a beta of 1.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $9.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.84.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cars.com

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Par Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cars.com during the second quarter valued at $14,220,000. Breach Inlet Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Cars.com in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,899,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Cars.com by 112.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,127,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,751,000 after purchasing an additional 595,609 shares during the last quarter. Hill Path Capital LP lifted its holdings in Cars.com by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hill Path Capital LP now owns 2,481,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,318,000 after purchasing an additional 468,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Cars.com in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,776,000. 89.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.