Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $14.6667.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. B. Riley Financial lowered Cars.com from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research raised Cars.com from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Cars.com from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Friday, February 27th.

Cars.com Stock Performance

NYSE:CARS opened at $9.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Cars.com has a 12-month low of $7.40 and a 12-month high of $13.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $10.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $539.55 million, a P/E ratio of 22.45 and a beta of 1.60.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.03). Cars.com had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The firm had revenue of $180.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.16 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. Cars.com’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Cars.com will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cars.com

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cars.com by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 38,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Cars.com by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 12,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cars.com by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 43,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,386 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Cars.com by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its stake in shares of Cars.com by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 36,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859 shares during the last quarter. 89.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Cars.com

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.