Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 114,826 Shares of Cars.com Inc. $CARS

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Cars.com Inc. by 29.5%, owning 274,636 shares valued at approximately $3.1 million after selling 114,826 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Wells Fargo and Barclays PLC, have increased their holdings in Cars.com, reflecting a significant institutional ownership of 89.15%.
• Cars.com recently reported earnings of $0.41 per share, missing expectations, with revenue of $178.74 million for the quarter, which was slightly lower than analyst projections.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS - Free Report) by 29.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 274,636 shares of the company's stock after selling 114,826 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.43% of Cars.com worth $3,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Cars.com by 27.3% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 188,871 shares of the company's stock worth $2,129,000 after purchasing an additional 40,505 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Cars.com during the first quarter worth $2,832,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Cars.com by 14.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 213,603 shares of the company's stock worth $2,407,000 after buying an additional 26,572 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Cars.com during the first quarter worth $454,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Cars.com by 10.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 923,314 shares of the company's stock worth $10,406,000 after buying an additional 88,463 shares during the last quarter. 89.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cars.com Stock Performance

CARS stock traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $13.09. 619,575 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 798,791. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Cars.com Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.56 and a 52 week high of $20.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $12.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $804.37 million, a PE ratio of 21.12 and a beta of 1.76.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $178.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $179.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Cars.com

In other Cars.com news, insider Matthew B. Crawford sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.77, for a total transaction of $176,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 98,461 shares in the company, valued at $1,158,885.97. This represents a 13.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CARS shares. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Cars.com in a report on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group reduced their target price on Cars.com from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company 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 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Zacks Research upgraded Cars.com from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and issued a $22.00 target price (up from $21.00) on shares of Cars.com in a report on Friday, August 8th. One investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.30.

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.