Cars.com Inc. $CARS Shares Acquired by LPL Financial LLC

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 boosted its holdings in shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS - Free Report) by 109.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 412,282 shares of the company's stock after purchasing 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 SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CARS. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 55,974 shares of the company's stock worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 236,850 shares of the company's stock worth $4,105,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 16.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,838 shares of the company's stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,710 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 26,436 shares of the company's stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 813.0% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,109 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,878 shares during the period. 89.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CARS shares. Wall Street Zen raised Cars.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and issued a $22.00 price target (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Cars.com in a report on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Cars.com from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Cars.com from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cars.com presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cars.com news, insider Matthew B. Crawford sold 15,000 shares of the company'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 value 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. This represents a 13.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cars.com Trading Up 3.6%

CARS traded up $0.46 during trading on Monday, hitting $13.09. 480,823 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 798,850. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Cars.com Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.56 and a 1 year high of $20.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $12.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.34. The firm has a market cap of $803.94 million, a P/E ratio of 21.14 and a beta of 1.76.

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

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.