Barclays Initiates Coverage on Cars.com (NYSE:CARS)

Investment analysts at Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an “equal weight” rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. Barclays‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 3.66% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Cars.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday. BTIG Research upped their target price on Cars.com from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Zacks Research downgraded Cars.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of Cars.com from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Cars.com from $13.00 to $11.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.07.

Cars.com Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:CARS opened at $13.51 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $703.39 million, a P/E ratio of 8.46 and a beta of 1.66. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.62. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Cars.com has a 12-month low of $7.40 and a 12-month high of $14.02.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.04. Cars.com had a net margin of 5.92% and a return on equity of 19.86%. The company had revenue of $181.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.05 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Cars.com will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Cars.com

In other news, insider Angelique Marks sold 57,980 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.94, for a total value of $692,281.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 149,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,786,653.84. This represents a 27.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jr. Donald A. 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 represents a 7.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cars.com

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Cars.com in the second quarter worth $26,000. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in Cars.com by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 111,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 3,312 shares during the last quarter. Kendall Capital Management lifted its stake in Cars.com by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 3,450 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Cars.com by 250.1% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 3,826 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Cars.com by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 35,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 4,592 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.15% of the company’s stock.

About Cars.com

Cars.com Inc. operates a digital automotive marketplace that connects people shopping for new and used vehicles with dealerships. Its Cars.com platform provides vehicle listings, research tools, reviews and information to help consumers compare cars and find local sellers. The company also offers products and services for automotive dealers, including digital marketing, website development, inventory and customer-management tools, and vehicle appraisal solutions. Its brands include Dealer Inspire, DealerRater and AccuTrade.