Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $17.30.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CARS shares. Zacks Research upgraded Cars.com from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cars.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Cars.com from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Friday, August 8th.

Insider Transactions at Cars.com

In related news, insider Matthew B. Crawford sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.77, for a total value of $176,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 98,461 shares in the company, valued at $1,158,885.97. The trade was a 13.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cars.com

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CARS. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Cars.com in the 4th quarter worth approximately $226,000. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 74,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,286,000 after purchasing an additional 8,161 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Cars.com by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 804,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,944,000 after purchasing an additional 120,331 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cars.com during the fourth quarter valued at $456,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 56.4% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 282,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,902,000 after purchasing an additional 102,015 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.15% of the company’s stock.

Cars.com Trading Down 0.9%

CARS opened at $13.38 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $822.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.59 and a beta of 1.78. Cars.com has a one year low of $9.56 and a one year high of $20.47.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.04). Cars.com had a net margin of 5.71% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The company had revenue of $178.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $179.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. Cars.com’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Cars.com will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

About Cars.com

Cars.com Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a digital automotive marketplace that connects local car dealers to consumers in the United States. The company offers a suite of digital solutions that creates connections between individuals researching cars or looking to purchase a car with car dealerships and automotive original equipment manufacturers.