Martingale Asset Management L P Makes New $499,000 Investment in Cars.com Inc. $CARS

Key Points

• Martingale Asset Management L P purchased 44,309 shares of Cars.com Inc., valued at approximately $499,000, during the first quarter, holding 0.07% of the company by the end of the quarter.
• Cars.com reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.41 for the last quarter, missing estimates by $0.04, with revenue slightly down by 0.1% compared to the previous year.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.15% of Cars.com's stock, highlighting significant institutional interest in the company.

Martingale Asset Management L P bought a new position in Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 44,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $499,000. Martingale Asset Management L P owned about 0.07% of Cars.com at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in Cars.com by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 39,423 shares of the company's stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 8,237 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Cars.com in the 4th quarter worth about $226,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in Cars.com by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 114,848 shares of the company's stock worth $1,990,000 after purchasing an additional 6,671 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Cars.com by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,172,706 shares of the company's stock worth $54,984,000 after purchasing an additional 55,143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cars.com by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 40,450 shares of the company's stock valued at $701,000 after acquiring an additional 1,976 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.15% of the company's stock.

Cars.com Price Performance

NYSE CARS traded down $0.08 on Thursday, hitting $13.09. The stock had a trading volume of 619,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 960,221. Cars.com Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.56 and a 52-week high of $20.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 1.82. The company has a market capitalization of $804.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12 and a beta of 1.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $12.56 and a 200-day moving average of $12.12.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $178.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $179.43 million. Cars.com had a net margin of 5.71% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CARS has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Cars.com from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Zacks Research raised shares of Cars.com from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cars.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, B. Riley reissued 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Matthew B. Crawford sold 15,000 shares of Cars.com 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Cars.com

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.