Villanova Investment Management Co LLC Sells 129,536 Shares of Cars.com Inc. $CARS

Key Points

• Villanova Investment Management Co LLC has sold 129,536 shares of Cars.com, decreasing its stake by 57.7% to 94,928 shares, representing 3.0% of its investment portfolio.
• Insider Matthew B. Crawford sold 15,000 shares at an average price of $11.77, which reduced his position by 13.22%.
• Cars.com reported a quarterly EPS of $0.41, missing analysts' expectations by $0.04, with revenues down 0.1% year-over-year at $178.74 million.

Villanova Investment Management Co LLC lowered its position in Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS - Free Report) by 57.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,928 shares of the company's stock after selling 129,536 shares during the quarter. Cars.com accounts for approximately 3.0% of Villanova Investment Management Co LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC owned 0.15% of Cars.com worth $1,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CARS. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Cars.com by 624.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 4,043 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Cars.com during the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Cars.com by 22.9% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,425 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Cars.com by 16.9% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Cars.com during the 4th quarter worth about $181,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 price objective (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Cars.com from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research raised Cars.com from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Cars.com from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $14.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cars.com currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $17.30.

Cars.com Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE CARS traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $13.50. The stock had a trading volume of 583,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 700,673. The company has a market capitalization of $829.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.78 and a beta of 1.78. Cars.com Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.56 and a 1-year high of $20.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $12.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.82.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $178.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.43 million. Cars.com had a net margin of 5.71% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cars.com

In other news, insider Matthew B. Crawford sold 15,000 shares of Cars.com stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.77, for a total value of $176,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 98,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,158,885.97. The trade was a 13.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cars.com Company 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.