Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Shares of Cars.com carry a consensus rating of "Hold" from eight brokerages (2 sell, 2 hold, 4 buy) with an average 1-year target price of $16.00.
• Analysts are split: Barrington rates the stock "outperform" with a $25 target, while JPMorgan cut its target to $10 and Zacks downgraded to "strong sell," reflecting divergent views on the company’s outlook.
• Cars.com missed on the latest quarter—EPS $0.44 vs. $0.56 expected—with revenue of $183.9M (up 1.9% YoY); the stock trades around $10 with a market cap of about $597.8M and a PE of ~31.9.

Shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $16.00.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Cars.com from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a report on Friday, April 10th. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Friday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $10.00 price objective (down from $16.00) on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cars.com from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cars.com

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Cars.com by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,898 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 1,279 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Cars.com by 30.0% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted 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 during the period. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cars.com in the third quarter worth about $100,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Cars.com in the second quarter worth about $115,000. Institutional investors own 89.15% of the company's stock.

Cars.com Stock Performance

NYSE CARS opened at $10.20 on Thursday. Cars.com has a 1 year low of $7.40 and a 1 year high of $13.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $597.83 million, a PE ratio of 31.86 and a beta of 1.46. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $9.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.86.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.12). Cars.com had a net margin of 2.77% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The firm had revenue of $183.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $183.44 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Cars.com will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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