Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) Earns “Outperform” Rating from Barrington Research

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Barrington Research in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $25.00 price target on the stock. Barrington Research’s price objective points to a potential upside of 191.55% from the stock’s previous close.

CARS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Cars.com from $17.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. 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. Wall Street Zen raised Cars.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price objective (down from $16.00) on shares of Cars.com in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.08.

Cars.com Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CARS opened at $8.58 on Friday. Cars.com has a 12 month low of $8.29 and a 12 month high of $13.97. The company has a market cap of $512.87 million, a P/E ratio of 26.80 and a beta of 1.46. The business’s 50 day moving average is $11.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last announced its 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 the consensus estimate of $183.44 million. Cars.com had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 2.77%.The company’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Cars.com will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Cars.com

In other Cars.com news, CFO Sonia Jain sold 11,400 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 243,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,276,984.90. This trade represents a 4.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew B. Crawford sold 27,358 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 71,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $855,369.09. This represents a 27.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cars.com

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC increased its position in Cars.com by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC now owns 405,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,948,000 after purchasing an additional 38,496 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Cars.com by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 252,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,083,000 after purchasing an additional 25,760 shares during the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cars.com during the 4th quarter worth approximately $168,000. Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Cars.com by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 47,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 4,298 shares during the period. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its stake in shares of Cars.com by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 36,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 1,859 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.15% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Cars.com

Here are the key news stories impacting Cars.com this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record full-year revenue, cash generation and buybacks: Cars.com reported record 2025 revenue of $723M, generated $152M of annual cash from operations and repurchased 7.1M shares for ~$86M (retiring ~9% of shares), which supports shareholder return and balance-sheet flexibility. PR Newswire: Cars.com Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish analyst with large upside: Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $25 price target, signaling a sizable upside scenario if Cars.com executes on dealer monetization and product integration. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG keeps a buy stance despite trimming its target: BTIG lowered its price target from $17 to $13 but retained a “buy” call, indicating some analysts still see recovery potential above current levels. TickerReport: BTIG Research
• Neutral Sentiment: Company product roadmap / marketplace integration and AI plans: Management outlined marketplace integration and plans to advance AI-powered solutions with an expectation of dealer revenue growth in 2026 — constructive for long-term monetization but not immediate upside. Earnings Call Transcript | Slide Deck | MSN
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan keeps a neutral view but trims target: JPMorgan reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and cut its price target to $10 (from $16), reflecting reduced near-term confidence even as upside remains modest against today’s price. Benzinga / Finviz
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 earnings miss and weak guidance: Cars.com reported Q4 EPS $0.44 vs. $0.56 expected and issued FY26 revenue guidance implying only ~0%–2% y/y growth (FY revenue guidance below consensus), which drove investor disappointment and downward pressure on the stock. Press Release / Slide Deck
• Negative Sentiment: Structural concerns and traffic decline: A Seeking Alpha note argues Cars.com faces declining consumer traffic, stagnant dealer growth, margin pressure and a ~$400M net debt load — a thesis that supports continued downside risk and a “Sell” view. Seeking Alpha: Cars.com — A Struggling Business
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple outlets highlight the miss: Coverage from Zacks, MarketBeat and other outlets emphasize the EPS miss and flat revenue growth, reinforcing the negative narrative among investors. Zacks | MarketBeat

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.