Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

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

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. B. Riley Financial downgraded Cars.com from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on Cars.com from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Cars.com from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Cars.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cars.com presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.67.

Cars.com Stock Performance

CARS opened at $9.88 on Thursday. Cars.com has a 52-week low of $7.40 and a 52-week high of $13.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $552.01 million, a PE ratio of 22.97 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 1.87. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.82.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.03). Cars.com had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 3.73%.The company had revenue of $180.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cars.com will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cars.com

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC grew its position in shares of Cars.com by 36.7% in the third quarter. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC now owns 367,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,486,000 after purchasing an additional 98,559 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cars.com in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,673,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Cars.com by 143.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 531,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,495,000 after purchasing an additional 313,128 shares during the last quarter. Hill Path Capital LP grew its position in shares of Cars.com by 23.2% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its position in shares of Cars.com by 487.0% in the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 160,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,953,000 after purchasing an additional 133,002 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.15% of the company’s stock.

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.