Cars.com (CARS) Competitors

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) and Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) are both business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership and profitability.

Is FA or CARS more profitable?

Cars.com has a net margin of 5.71% compared to First Advantage's net margin of 0.65%. Cars.com's return on equity of 17.43% beat First Advantage's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Advantage	0.65%	13.16%	7.33%
Cars.com	5.71%	17.43%	7.91%

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of FA or CARS?

94.9% of First Advantage shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.2% of Cars.com shares are held by institutional investors. 3.9% of First Advantage shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Cars.com shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts rate FA or CARS?

First Advantage currently has a consensus target price of $20.00, indicating a potential upside of 41.34%. Cars.com has a consensus target price of $17.90, indicating a potential upside of 69.91%. Given Cars.com's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Cars.com is more favorable than First Advantage.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Advantage	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
Cars.com	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.57

Which has more volatility and risk, FA or CARS?

First Advantage has a beta of 1.21, indicating that its share price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cars.com has a beta of 1.76, indicating that its share price is 76% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, FA or CARS?

Cars.com has lower revenue, but higher earnings than First Advantage. First Advantage is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cars.com, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Advantage	$1.25B	1.97	$37.29M	-$0.92	-15.38
Cars.com	$719.15M	0.90	$48.19M	$0.62	16.99

Does the media favor FA or CARS?

In the previous week, Cars.com had 3 more articles in the media than First Advantage. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for Cars.com and 4 mentions for First Advantage. First Advantage's average media sentiment score of 0.94 beat Cars.com's score of 0.11 indicating that First Advantage is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Advantage	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Cars.com	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Summary

Cars.com beats First Advantage on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.