Brokerages Set Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) PT at $14.67

Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.6667.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CARS. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Cars.com from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. B. Riley Financial cut 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. Weiss Ratings raised Cars.com from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research cut Cars.com from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Cars.com from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th.

Cars.com Stock Up 3.1%

CARS stock opened at $11.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $660.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.48 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $10.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.31. 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 has a 12 month low of $7.40 and a 12 month high of $13.97.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $180.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.16 million. Cars.com had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 3.73%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.37 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Cars.com will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Cars.com

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cars.com

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Cars.com by 30.0% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 1,623 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 436.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 6,475 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cars.com during the third quarter worth about $100,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Cars.com during the second quarter worth about $115,000. Finally, AXA S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Cars.com during the second quarter worth about $126,000. 89.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.