Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) Stock Rating Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

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

Cars.com Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CARS opened at $13.37 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $696.05 million, a PE ratio of 17.82 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $11.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.61. Cars.com has a 1 year low of $7.40 and a 1 year high of $14.02.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $181.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Cars.com will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Cars.com news, Director Donald McGovern sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.25, for a total value of $98,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 102,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,260,525. This represents a 7.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Angelique Marks sold 57,980 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 149,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,786,653.84. This trade represents a 27.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cars.com

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pale Fire Capital SE grew its stake in shares of Cars.com by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 4,008,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,850,000 after buying an additional 51,600 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Cars.com by 8.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,401,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,620,000 after acquiring an additional 262,443 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 253,991 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Cars.com by 16.7% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 440,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,579,000 after acquiring an additional 63,234 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Cars.com during the second quarter worth $2,748,000. 89.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cars.com

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.