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

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

A number of other analysts have also commented on CARS. B. Riley Financial lowered Cars.com from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, May 8th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a report on Monday, April 13th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a report on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Cars.com from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Cars.com from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.83.

Cars.com Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE:CARS opened at $12.01 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $11.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.31. Cars.com has a 52 week low of $7.40 and a 52 week high of $13.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $642.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07 and a beta of 1.60.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.51. Cars.com had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 18.82%. The company had revenue of $179.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cars.com will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Cars.com

In other news, CFO Sonia Jain sold 34,021 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.49, for a total value of $322,859.29. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 312,833 shares in the company, valued at $2,968,785.17. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cars.com

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CARS. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its position in Cars.com by 487.0% in the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 160,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,953,000 after buying an additional 133,002 shares in the last quarter. Kestrel Investment Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Cars.com in the fourth quarter worth about $3,752,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Cars.com by 77.9% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 580,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,711,000 after buying an additional 253,991 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Cars.com by 83.3% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 191,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,330,000 after buying an additional 86,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Cars.com during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,055,000. 89.15% of the stock is currently 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.