Two Sigma Advisers LP Purchases New Shares in Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS)

Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new position in Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 19,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $331,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 56.4% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 282,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,902,000 after purchasing an additional 102,015 shares in the last quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cars.com in the 4th quarter worth about $4,460,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Cars.com by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 59,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 18,799 shares in the last quarter. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in Cars.com during the 4th quarter worth about $3,890,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Cars.com by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,172,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,984,000 after acquiring an additional 55,143 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.15% of the company’s stock.

Cars.com Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE CARS opened at $10.19 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.54. Cars.com Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.56 and a 52 week high of $21.24. The stock has a market cap of $647.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last posted 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 net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 9.99%. The business had revenue of $179.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.82 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. Cars.com’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Cars.com

In related news, CEO Thomas Alex Vetter purchased 27,870 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $10.75 per share, for a total transaction of $299,602.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 844,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,082,642.75. This trade represents a 3.41% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CARS has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Cars.com from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Cars.com from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Cars.com from $21.00 to $14.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.30.

About Cars.com

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.