Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday. The stock had previously closed at $10.35, but opened at $10.60. Cars.com shares last traded at $10.5150, with a volume of 26,187 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CARS shares. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cars.com from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cars.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Cars.com from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.83.

Cars.com Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $582.14 million, a PE ratio of 19.08 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.55.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. Cars.com had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 18.82%. The business had revenue of $179.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Cars.com

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cars.com

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Cars.com during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Cars.com in the second quarter worth about $144,000. Amundi purchased a new position in Cars.com in the second quarter worth about $192,000. Kendall Capital Management purchased a new position in Cars.com in the second quarter worth about $197,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Cars.com by 15.0% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 35,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 4,592 shares during the last quarter. 89.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cars.com

Cars.com Inc (NYSE:CARS) operates a digital automotive marketplace that connects consumers with automobile dealers and manufacturers. Its platform helps shoppers research vehicles, compare listings, read reviews, explore pricing and incentives, and connect with dealerships when they are ready to buy or sell a vehicle.

The company provides automotive retailers with digital marketing and technology solutions designed to help them attract and engage customers. Its offerings include vehicle listings, dealer websites, digital retailing tools, customer relationship and lead-management services, reputation management, and advertising solutions.