Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) Now Covered by Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays initiated coverage of Cars.com with an “equal weight” rating and a $14 price target, implying 3.66% upside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly neutral: the consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average price target of $15.07.
• In its latest quarter, Cars.com posted EPS of $0.58, beating the $0.54 estimate, while revenue of $181.88 million fell short of forecasts; revenue rose 0.2% year over year.

Investment analysts at Barclays began coverage on shares of Cars.com (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm 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 stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. B. Riley Financial raised their target price on shares of Cars.com from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, November 6th. Zacks Research lowered Cars.com from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group cut their price target on Cars.com from $13.00 to $11.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cars.com from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Cars.com from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cars.com has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $15.07.

Cars.com Stock Performance

Shares of CARS opened at $13.51 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $11.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.62. The stock has a market cap of $703.39 million, a P/E ratio of 8.46 and a beta of 1.66. Cars.com has a one year low of $7.40 and a one year high of $14.02.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.04. Cars.com had a return on equity of 19.86% and a net margin of 5.92%. The business had revenue of $181.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.05 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Cars.com will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Donald McGovern sold 8,000 shares of Cars.com stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 102,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,260,525. The trade was a 7.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Angelique Marks sold 57,980 shares of the 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 sale, the insider directly owned 149,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,786,653.84. The trade was a 27.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 3.36% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Cars.com in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,826 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Cars.com in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $104,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Cars.com in the second quarter valued at approximately $144,000. Finally, Amundi bought a new position in shares of Cars.com in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $192,000. Hedge funds and other 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.

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