LPL Financial LLC Grows Stake in Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Cars.com by 109.7% during the first quarter, owning 412,282 shares valued at approximately $4.6 million.
• Cars.com reported a net margin of 5.71% and a return on equity of 17.43% in its latest earnings report, missing EPS estimates by $0.04.
• Analysts are split on Cars.com's stock, with UBS lowering their target price while B. Riley upgraded their rating, setting a new target price of $22.00 for the stock.

LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS - Free Report) by 109.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 412,282 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 215,651 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.65% of Cars.com worth $4,646,000 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. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cars.com by 624.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,690 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 4,043 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Cars.com by 56.4% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 282,874 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,902,000 after purchasing an additional 102,015 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Cars.com by 13.2% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 398,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,485,000 after purchasing an additional 46,562 shares in the last quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Cars.com during the fourth quarter valued at $4,460,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Cars.com by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 59,442 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 18,799 shares in the last quarter. 89.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cars.com Price Performance

NYSE:CARS opened at $13.04 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $12.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.51. The stock has a market cap of $801.18 million, a PE ratio of 21.03 and a beta of 1.76. Cars.com Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.56 and a 52 week high of $20.47.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.04). Cars.com had a net margin of 5.71% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The business had revenue of $178.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $179.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. Cars.com's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.77, for a total transaction of $176,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 98,461 shares in the company, valued at $1,158,885.97. The trade was a 13.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CARS has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on Cars.com from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 target price (up from $21.00) on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cars.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Cars.com from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cars.com 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.

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