Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) Given Average Rating of "Buy" by Brokerages

Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.30.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $22.00 price objective (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Cars.com in a report on Friday, August 8th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a report on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Cars.com from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Cars.com from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Cars.com from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cars.com news, insider Matthew B. Crawford sold 15,000 shares of Cars.com stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.77, for a total transaction of $176,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 98,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,158,885.97. The trade was a 13.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Cars.com during the 2nd quarter valued at about $115,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 4.4% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 197,212 shares of the company's stock worth $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 8,341 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 6.4% during the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 76,904 shares of the company's stock worth $912,000 after purchasing an additional 4,629 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 436.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,960 shares of the company's stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 6,475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 21.4% during the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 41,637 shares of the company's stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 7,343 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.15% of the company's stock.

Cars.com Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CARS traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $13.59. 531,053 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 730,426. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $12.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.87. Cars.com has a 52 week low of $9.56 and a 52 week high of $20.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $835.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.92 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.82.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.04). Cars.com had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 5.71%.The firm had revenue of $178.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $179.43 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. The company's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Cars.com will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

About Cars.com

Cars.com Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a digital automotive marketplace that connects local car dealers to consumers in the United States. The company offers a suite of digital solutions that creates connections between individuals researching cars or looking to purchase a car with car dealerships and automotive original equipment manufacturers.