D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 87,400 Shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS - Free Report) by 38.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 138,094 shares of the company's stock after selling 87,400 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.21% of Cars.com worth $2,393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CARS. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Cars.com by 193.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,638 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,079 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Cars.com by 813.0% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,109 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,878 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Cars.com by 184.5% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 2,254 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Cars.com by 68.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,885 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 1,575 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Cars.com by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,155 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 1,516 shares during the period. 89.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CARS has been the topic of several analyst reports. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Cars.com from $21.00 to $14.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Cars.com from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Cars.com from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cars.com has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Thomas Alex Vetter acquired 27,870 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $10.75 per share, with a total value of $299,602.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 844,897 shares in the company, valued at $9,082,642.75. This trade represents a 3.41% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cars.com Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CARS traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $10.05. 535,243 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 644,347. Cars.com Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.56 and a 12-month high of $21.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $638.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33 and a beta of 1.95. The business's fifty day moving average price is $11.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.06.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $179.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $179.82 million. Cars.com had a return on equity of 9.99% and a net margin of 5.46%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cars.com Company Profile

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.