Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Buys 57,225 Shares of Cars.com Inc. $CARS

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in Cars.com Inc. by 16.0% during the first quarter, now holding 413,769 shares valued at approximately $4.66 million.
• Cars.com reported a net margin of 5.71% and earnings per share of $0.41 for the latest quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations by $0.04.
• Analysts have a moderate buy rating on Cars.com, with an average price target of $17.30, reflecting optimism for the company's stock performance.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its position in shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS - Free Report) by 16.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 413,769 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 57,225 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 0.65% of Cars.com worth $4,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in Cars.com by 184.5% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 2,254 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Cars.com in the 4th quarter valued at about $61,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Cars.com by 624.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 4,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Cars.com by 22.9% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,425 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. 89.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cars.com Trading Up 7.1%

CARS traded up $0.8790 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $13.3390. The stock had a trading volume of 302,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 798,601. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $12.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $819.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61 and a beta of 1.76. Cars.com Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.56 and a 1-year high of $20.47.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $178.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.43 million. Cars.com had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 5.71%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cars.com news, insider Matthew B. Crawford sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.77, for a total value of $176,550.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 98,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,158,885.97. This trade represents a 13.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CARS shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Cars.com from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cars.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Cars.com from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 price target (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.30.

Cars.com 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.