Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) Lowered to “Strong Sell” Rating by Zacks Research

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

CARS has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Cars.com from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday. BTIG Research boosted their price target on Cars.com from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group increased their price target on Cars.com from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Cars.com from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, B. Riley Financial lowered shares of Cars.com from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.67.

Cars.com Stock Up 1.7%

Cars.com stock opened at $11.29 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $10.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 1.87. Cars.com has a 52-week low of $7.40 and a 52-week high of $13.97. The firm has a market cap of $631.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.27 and a beta of 1.59.

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

Insider Transactions at Cars.com

In other Cars.com news, CFO Sonia Jain sold 34,021 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were 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 owned 312,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,968,785.17. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CARS. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Cars.com by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 38,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd raised its stake in shares of Cars.com by 12.3% during the third quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 12,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,367 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 3.3% during the third quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 43,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,386 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Cars.com by 30.0% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its stake in shares of Cars.com by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 36,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859 shares during the last quarter. 89.15% of the stock is currently 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.