SG Americas Securities LLC Cuts Stake in Cars.com Inc. $CARS

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities sharply reduced its Cars.com stake by 95.5% in Q1, selling more than 312,000 shares and leaving it with 14,912 shares valued at about $121,000.
• Other institutional investors were mixed on the stock: some, including Royal Bank of Canada, JPMorgan, and Invesco, increased holdings, while institutional ownership overall remained high at 89.15%.
• Analysts currently have a cautious view on Cars.com, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.67. The company also recently reported earnings of $0.45 per share, slightly below expectations, while revenue came in roughly in line with estimates.

SG Americas Securities LLC cut its holdings in shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS - Free Report) by 95.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,912 shares of the company's stock after selling 312,868 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Cars.com were worth $121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CARS. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Cars.com by 122.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 29,655 shares of the company's stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 16,347 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Cars.com by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 33,860 shares of the company's stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 6,416 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Cars.com by 19.5% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 242,251 shares of the company's stock worth $2,730,000 after purchasing an additional 39,561 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Cars.com by 62.3% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 218,358 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,588,000 after purchasing an additional 83,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Cars.com by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 223,879 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,653,000 after purchasing an additional 10,276 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CARS. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Cars.com from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Monday, April 13th. B. Riley Financial cut shares of Cars.com from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Cars.com from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Cars.com from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $14.67.

Cars.com Stock Up 0.4%

CARS stock opened at $11.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $622.11 million, a P/E ratio of 25.88 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Cars.com Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.40 and a twelve month high of $13.97. The company's 50 day moving average is $10.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.36.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $180.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.16 million. Cars.com had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. Research analysts expect that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Cars.com

In other Cars.com news, CFO Sonia Jain sold 52,579 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.56, for a total value of $502,655.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 346,854 shares in the company, valued at $3,315,924.24. This represents a 13.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cars.com Company Profile

Cars.com operates as a leading online automotive marketplace in the United States, connecting car shoppers with new and used vehicle listings from dealerships and private sellers. The platform enables consumers to research makes and models, compare prices, read expert and user reviews, and access tools such as TrueCost to estimate ownership expenses over time. Through its website and mobile applications, Cars.com aims to simplify the car-buying process by aggregating detailed vehicle data, payment calculators, and dealership ratings into a single user-friendly experience.

On the dealer side, Cars.com provides a suite of marketing and lead-generation services designed to help automotive retailers reach potential buyers and manage their online presence.

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