Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Buys New Holdings in Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH has acquired a new stake in Cars.com, purchasing 32,095 shares valued at approximately $362,000, representing about 0.05% of the company.
• Cars.com reported a Q1 EPS of $0.37, missing analysts' expectations, and their revenue of $179.02 million was slightly below the forecast of $179.82 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Cars.com, with JPMorgan upgrading the stock to "overweight" and setting a target price of $14.00, while UBS lowered its target from $13.00 to $12.00.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 32,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $362,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.05% of Cars.com as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cars.com during the fourth quarter valued at about $226,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Cars.com in the 4th quarter worth $251,000. LPL Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Cars.com in the 4th quarter worth about $3,408,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cars.com by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,121,007 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,407,000 after acquiring an additional 115,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Cars.com by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 236,850 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,105,000 after buying an additional 827 shares during the period. 89.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Cars.com from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Cars.com from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $14.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Thomas Alex Vetter acquired 27,870 shares of Cars.com stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $10.75 per share, with a total value of $299,602.50. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 844,897 shares in the company, valued at $9,082,642.75. The trade was a 3.41% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.39% of the company's stock.

Cars.com Stock Performance

CARS stock traded down $1.76 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $11.37. 1,297,200 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 778,719. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $11.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $722.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.69 and a beta of 1.76. Cars.com Inc. has a one year low of $9.56 and a one year high of $20.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.02). Cars.com had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 6.32%. The firm had revenue of $179.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $179.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. Cars.com's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current 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.