Analysts Set Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) Price Target at $17.30

Key Points

• Cars.com Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with one hold rating and four buy ratings among the five analysts covering the stock.
• The average 12-month target price for Cars.com is set at $17.30, while major institutions like Dimensional Fund Advisors and Renaissance Technologies have recently increased their holdings in the company.
• Cars.com reported $0.41 earnings per share for its last quarter, falling short of analysts' estimates by $0.04, with revenue declining slightly year-over-year.

Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $17.30.

CARS has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Cars.com from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cars.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Cars.com from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 target price (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Friday, August 8th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Matthew B. Crawford sold 15,000 shares of Cars.com stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.77, for a total value of $176,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 98,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,158,885.97. The trade was a 13.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cars.com

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CARS. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Cars.com by 813.0% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,109 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,878 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its stake in Cars.com by 119.9% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,227 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 2,305 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Cars.com by 624.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,690 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 4,043 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in Cars.com by 184.5% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,476 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 2,254 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Cars.com during the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.15% of the company's stock.

Cars.com Stock Performance

Cars.com stock traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $12.83. The company had a trading volume of 272,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 794,739. The firm has a market cap of $788.28 million, a PE ratio of 20.71 and a beta of 1.76. 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 has a one year low of $9.56 and a one year high of $20.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $12.02 and a 200 day moving average of $12.51.

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