Weiss Asset Management LP Buys New Shares in Cars.com Inc. $CARS

Key Points

• Weiss Asset Management initiated a position in Cars.com by purchasing 129,886 shares worth approximately $1.06 million, representing about 0.23% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 89.15% of CARS.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with three Buy, four Hold, and one Sell rating; the consensus rating is Hold with a $14.67 price target.
• Cars.com reported quarterly revenue of $180.22 million, slightly above estimates, while earnings per share of $0.45 missed expectations by $0.03. Shares opened at $11.82, above their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 129,886 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,055,000. Weiss Asset Management LP owned about 0.23% of Cars.com as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CARS. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 38,273 shares of the company's stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 12,499 shares of the company's stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 1,367 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 43,023 shares of the company's stock worth $526,000 after buying an additional 1,386 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Cars.com by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,025 shares of the company's stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 1,623 shares during the period. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its position in shares of Cars.com by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 36,904 shares of the company's stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 1,859 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CARS. B. Riley Financial cut Cars.com from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Cars.com from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Cars.com from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research lowered Cars.com from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Cars.com in a report on Monday, April 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $14.67.

Cars.com Stock Performance

Shares of CARS stock opened at $11.82 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $10.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.31. Cars.com Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.40 and a 52 week high of $13.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $660.61 million, a PE ratio of 27.48 and a beta of 1.59.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Cars.com 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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