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

Shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $17.90.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CARS. Zacks Research lowered shares of Cars.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Tuesday. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $13.50 price target on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Cars.com from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Monday, November 3rd.

Cars.com Stock Performance

NYSE:CARS opened at $11.39 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.20. Cars.com has a twelve month low of $9.56 and a twelve month high of $18.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $680.94 million, a PE ratio of 24.75 and a beta of 1.45.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last announced 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). Cars.com had a net margin of 4.16% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The company had revenue of $181.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $181.37 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Cars.com will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Cars.com

In other news, insider Matthew B. Crawford sold 27,358 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was 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 represents a 27.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sonia Jain sold 11,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.45, for a total transaction of $153,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 243,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,276,984.90. This represents a 4.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Cars.com by 119.9% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 2,305 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cars.com by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 1,623 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Cars.com by 436.0% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Cars.com in the third quarter worth approximately $100,000. 89.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.