Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) Stock Now Rated "Hold" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts collectively rate Cars.com “Hold.” Five of eight covering brokerages recommend holding the stock, while three rate it a buy; the average 12-month price target is $14.58.
• Cars.com shares opened at $9.54, with a 12-month trading range of $7.40 to $13.69 and a market capitalization of approximately $510 million. UBS recently lowered its price target to $11.50 and assigned a neutral rating.
• The company’s latest quarterly results matched expectations, with EPS of $0.51 and revenue of $179.93 million, up 0.7% year over year. Institutional investors own approximately 89.15% of the stock, while recent insider transactions were sales.

Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $14.58.

CARS has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Cars.com from $13.00 to $11.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised shares of Cars.com from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Cars.com from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th.

Cars.com Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Cars.com stock opened at $9.54 on Thursday. Cars.com has a 12-month low of $7.40 and a 12-month high of $13.69. The stock has a market cap of $510.41 million, a P/E ratio of 16.73 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The business's 50 day moving average is $11.46 and its 200-day moving average is $10.69.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.51. The company had revenue of $179.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.53 million. Cars.com had a return on equity of 18.82% and a net margin of 4.73%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Cars.com will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Cars.com

In other Cars.com news, insider Angelique Marks sold 57,980 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.94, for a total transaction of $692,281.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 149,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,786,653.84. The trade was a 27.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Donald McGovern sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.25, for a total value of $98,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 102,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,260,525. This trade represents a 7.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 3.36% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Cars.com in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Cars.com by 250.1% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,356 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 3,826 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Cars.com during the second quarter worth $144,000. Amundi acquired a new position in shares of Cars.com in the second quarter valued at $192,000. Finally, Kendall Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Cars.com in the second quarter valued at $197,000. 89.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Cars.com

Cars.com, Inc is a digital automotive marketplace that connects car shoppers with automobile dealers, manufacturers and other industry participants. Through its Cars.com platform, the company enables consumers to research vehicles, compare new and used cars, review pricing and features, read expert and consumer reviews, and connect with dealers about available inventory.

The company provides automotive retailers and manufacturers with digital marketing and technology solutions, including vehicle listings, advertising, inventory merchandising, lead generation, website and digital retailing tools, and customer engagement services.

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