Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) Price Target Raised to $14.00

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) had its price objective raised by BTIG Research from $13.00 to $14.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on CARS. Weiss Ratings lowered Cars.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective (down from $16.00) on shares of Cars.com in a report on Friday, February 27th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a report on Monday, April 13th. Zacks Research raised Cars.com from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a report on Friday, February 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cars.com currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.67.

Cars.com Stock Performance

Shares of CARS stock opened at $11.68 on Thursday. 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 $679.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17 and a beta of 1.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.03). Cars.com had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 3.73%.The business had revenue of $180.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.16 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cars.com will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cars.com

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Cars.com by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,401,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,620,000 after purchasing an additional 262,443 shares in the last quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Cars.com by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,697,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,911,000 after purchasing an additional 639,000 shares in the last quarter. Hill Path Capital LP boosted its stake in Cars.com by 23.2% during 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. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Cars.com by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,203,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,708,000 after purchasing an additional 138,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Cars.com by 112.1% during 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 in the last quarter. 89.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Cars.com

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cars.com reaffirmed its 2026 outlook for flat to 2% revenue growth and a 29% to 30% adjusted EBITDA margin, while also boosting its share repurchase target to $90 million, signaling confidence in cash generation and capital return. Article link
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results showed revenue of $180.2 million, adjusted EBITDA of $51.0 million, and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 28.3%, which exceeded guidance and suggests operating performance remains healthy despite modest top-line growth. Article link
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research raised its price target on Cars.com to $14 from $13 and kept a Buy rating, indicating some analysts see further upside from current levels. Article link
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan also lifted its price target to $11 from $10, even while maintaining a Neutral rating, reflecting improved valuation expectations after the earnings release. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Cars.com reported adjusted results that were largely in line with revenue expectations, but the market is balancing that against the earnings miss and modest growth profile. Article link
• Negative Sentiment: The company posted Q1 EPS of $0.45, missing Wall Street estimates of $0.48, which is the main reason shares have moved lower. Article link

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.