Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest fell 13.4% to 7,307,418 shares as of March 31, equal to 12.8% of shares short and a days-to-cover ratio of 2.9.
• Several institutional investors increased positions in Q4, and hedge funds/other institutions now own about 89.15% of Cars.com stock.
• Shares traded up 4.2% to $10.67 (market cap ~$625M) after the company reported an EPS miss ($0.44 vs. $0.56), while analysts maintain a consensus "Hold" with an average price target of $16.00.

Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 7,307,418 shares, a decrease of 13.4% from the March 15th total of 8,437,551 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,536,017 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 12.8% of the company's shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cars.com

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC now owns 405,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,948,000 after buying an additional 38,496 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 252,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,083,000 after buying an additional 25,760 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cars.com during the 4th quarter valued at about $168,000. Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 47,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $577,000 after buying an additional 4,298 shares during the period. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 36,904 shares of the company's stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 1,859 shares during the period. 89.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cars.com Trading Up 4.2%

Shares of Cars.com stock traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $10.67. The stock had a trading volume of 150,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,292,393. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $625.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.33 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Cars.com has a 1 year low of $7.40 and a 1 year high of $13.97.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CARS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded Cars.com from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $10.00 target price (down from $16.00) on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Friday, February 27th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a report on Friday, February 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $16.00.

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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