Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Cars.com from $13.00 to $11.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. BTIG Research increased their target price on Cars.com from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Cars.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on Cars.com from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.25.

Cars.com Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of CARS stock opened at $13.37 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03. Cars.com has a 1-year low of $7.40 and a 1-year high of $14.02. The firm has a market cap of $696.05 million, a P/E ratio of 17.82 and a beta of 1.66.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.04. Cars.com had a net margin of 5.92% and a return on equity of 19.86%. The firm had revenue of $181.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. Cars.com’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cars.com will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Angelique Marks sold 57,980 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.94, for a total value of $692,281.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 149,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,786,653.84. This trade represents a 27.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jr. Donald A. Mcgovern sold 8,000 shares of Cars.com stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.25, for a total transaction of $98,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 102,900 shares in the company, valued at $1,260,525. The trade was a 7.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pale Fire Capital SE lifted its stake in shares of Cars.com by 1.3% during the second quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 4,008,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,850,000 after purchasing an additional 51,600 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Cars.com by 8.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,401,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,620,000 after buying an additional 262,443 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 77.9% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 580,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,711,000 after buying an additional 253,991 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 440,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,579,000 after buying an additional 63,234 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Cars.com by 47.0% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 308,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,503,000 after acquiring an additional 98,499 shares in the last quarter. 89.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cars.com Company Profile

Cars.com Inc. operates a digital automotive marketplace that connects people shopping for new and used vehicles with dealerships. Its Cars.com platform provides vehicle listings, research tools, reviews and information to help consumers compare cars and find local sellers. The company also offers products and services for automotive dealers, including digital marketing, website development, inventory and customer-management tools, and vehicle appraisal solutions. Its brands include Dealer Inspire, DealerRater and AccuTrade.