Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Cars.com from a "strong sell" to a "hold"; the analyst consensus is likewise a Hold with an average price target of $16 (4 Buys, 3 Holds, 1 Sell).
• Cars.com missed quarterly EPS estimates (reported $0.44 vs. $0.56 expected) while revenue of $183.9M was roughly in line; the stock trades near $10.25 with a market cap of ~$600.7M and a 12‑month range of $7.40–$13.97.
• Institutional investors own about 89.15% of the company, and several major firms (RBC, AQR, UBS AM, JPMorgan, Invesco) recently increased their holdings.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on CARS. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Cars.com from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings cut Cars.com from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.00 price target (down from $16.00) on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cars.com currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $16.00.

Cars.com Price Performance

Shares of CARS opened at $10.25 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $600.74 million, a P/E ratio of 32.02 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $9.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Cars.com has a 12 month low of $7.40 and a 12 month high of $13.97.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $183.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.44 million. Cars.com had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 2.77%.Cars.com's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Cars.com will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Cars.com

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CARS. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 122.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 29,655 shares of the company's stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 16,347 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 23.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 33,860 shares of the company's stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 6,416 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 19.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 242,251 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,730,000 after buying an additional 39,561 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 62.3% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 218,358 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,588,000 after buying an additional 83,848 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 4.8% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 223,879 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,653,000 after buying an additional 10,276 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.15% of the company's stock.

About Cars.com

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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