BTIG Research Reaffirms Buy Rating for Cars.com (NYSE:CARS)

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by BTIG Research in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $14.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research’s target price suggests a potential upside of 22.27% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. B. Riley Financial cut Cars.com from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research lowered Cars.com from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Cars.com from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on Cars.com from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Three investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.67.

Cars.com Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of NYSE:CARS traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $11.45. 846,843 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,038,753. The firm has a market cap of $640.09 million, a PE ratio of 26.51 and a beta of 1.60. Cars.com has a fifty-two week low of $7.40 and a fifty-two week high of $13.97. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. The firm had revenue of $179.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.53 million. Cars.com had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cars.com will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Sonia Jain sold 34,021 shares of Cars.com stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.49, for a total value of $322,859.29. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 312,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,968,785.17. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CARS. Pale Fire Capital SE increased its holdings in Cars.com by 498.1% during the first quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 3,956,618 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,128,000 after buying an additional 3,295,117 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Cars.com by 8.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,401,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,620,000 after purchasing an additional 262,443 shares during the period. Par Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Cars.com by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,697,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,911,000 after buying an additional 639,000 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Cars.com by 112.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,127,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,751,000 after buying an additional 595,609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Cars.com by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,057,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,920,000 after acquiring an additional 198,077 shares during the period. 89.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.