Jenell Ross Purchases 1,995 Shares of Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) Stock

Key Points

• Director Jenell Ross bought 1,995 shares of Cars.com on March 13 at an average price of $7.56, spending $15,082 and increasing her stake to 69,478 shares (a 2.96% rise, valued at about $525,254).
• Cars.com reported quarterly EPS of $0.44, missing the $0.56 consensus while revenue was $183.90 million (up 1.9% year-over-year), with a slim net margin of 2.77%.
• Shares trade around $7.64 (near a 52-week low of $7.40) with a market cap of roughly $448 million; analysts’ consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $16.08.

Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) Director Jenell Ross acquired 1,995 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $7.56 per share, for a total transaction of $15,082.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 69,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at $525,253.68. The trade was a 2.96% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Cars.com Price Performance

CARS traded up $0.06 on Monday, reaching $7.64. The company had a trading volume of 2,059,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,078,042. Cars.com Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.40 and a 52-week high of $13.97. The company has a market cap of $448.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 1.87. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.57.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.12). Cars.com had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 2.77%.The company had revenue of $183.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.44 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. Cars.com's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CARS shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Cars.com from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. BTIG Research lowered their price target on shares of Cars.com from $17.00 to $13.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $13.50 price target on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $10.00 price objective (down from $16.00) on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a report on Friday, February 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $16.08.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cars.com

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Cars.com by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,139,080 shares of the company's stock worth $38,296,000 after acquiring an additional 39,173 shares during the last quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cars.com by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,697,648 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,911,000 after acquiring an additional 639,000 shares during the last quarter. Hill Path Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 23.2% during the third quarter. Hill Path Capital LP now owns 2,481,032 shares of the company's stock worth $30,318,000 after purchasing an additional 468,000 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cars.com during the second quarter worth about $16,456,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cars.com by 13.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,203,622 shares of the company's stock worth $14,708,000 after purchasing an additional 138,229 shares during the last quarter. 89.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Cars.com

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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