Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 7,307,418 shares, a drop of 13.4% from the March 15th total of 8,437,551 shares. Currently, 12.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,536,017 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cars.com

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cars.com in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,673,000. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC grew its position in shares of Cars.com by 36.7% in the 3rd quarter. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC now owns 367,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,486,000 after acquiring an additional 98,559 shares in the last quarter. Hill Path Capital LP grew its position in shares of Cars.com by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hill Path Capital LP now owns 2,481,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,318,000 after acquiring an additional 468,000 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cars.com in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,496,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Cars.com by 143.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 531,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,495,000 after acquiring an additional 313,128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.15% of the company’s stock.

Cars.com Stock Up 4.2%

NYSE CARS traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $10.67. 150,483 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,292,393. Cars.com has a 1-year low of $7.40 and a 1-year high of $13.97. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $625.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.33 and a beta of 1.46.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.12). Cars.com had a net margin of 2.77% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The business had revenue of $183.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.44 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. Cars.com’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cars.com will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Cars.com in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Cars.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Cars.com in a report on Friday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 target price (down from $16.00) on shares of Cars.com in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Cars.com from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cars.com presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.00.

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.