Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 262,443 Shares of Cars.com Inc. $CARS

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors increased its Cars.com stake by 8.4%, purchasing 262,443 additional shares in the first quarter and bringing its ownership to approximately 5.85%, or $27.6 million.
• Cars.com reported quarterly revenue of $180.22 million, slightly above expectations, but earnings per share of $0.45 missed the $0.48 consensus estimate. Revenue rose 0.7% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Cars.com has an average “Hold” rating and a $14.67 price target, while institutional investors collectively own 89.15% of the company; the stock recently traded near $11.87.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS - Free Report) by 8.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,401,523 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 262,443 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 5.85% of Cars.com worth $27,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its stake in Cars.com by 487.0% in the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 160,315 shares of the company's stock worth $1,953,000 after purchasing an additional 133,002 shares in the last quarter. Kestrel Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Cars.com during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,752,000. LSV Asset Management grew its position in shares of Cars.com by 83.3% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 191,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,330,000 after purchasing an additional 86,800 shares in the last quarter. Breach Inlet Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cars.com during the fourth quarter valued at about $8,899,000. Finally, K2 Principal Fund L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Cars.com in the fourth quarter worth about $954,000. Institutional investors own 89.15% of the company's stock.

Cars.com Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of CARS stock opened at $11.87 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $663.79 million, a PE ratio of 27.61 and a beta of 1.60. Cars.com Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.40 and a 1 year high of $13.97. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $10.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $180.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $180.16 million. Cars.com had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 3.73%.Cars.com's revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. Research analysts predict that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cars.com news, CFO Sonia Jain sold 34,021 shares of Cars.com stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.49, for a total transaction of $322,859.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 312,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,968,785.17. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CARS shares. BTIG Research increased their price target on Cars.com from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research downgraded Cars.com from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of Cars.com in a report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Cars.com from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cars.com from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cars.com currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $14.67.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source