Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $16.0833.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cars.com from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. BTIG Research reduced their target price on Cars.com from $17.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group raised their price target on Cars.com from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Friday, February 27th.

Cars.com Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of NYSE CARS opened at $7.91 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $10.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.41. The company has a market capitalization of $463.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.70 and a beta of 1.50. Cars.com has a 1 year low of $7.40 and a 1 year high of $13.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $183.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.44 million. Cars.com had a net margin of 2.77% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Cars.com will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cars.com

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cars.com during the third quarter worth about $1,673,000. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC raised its stake in Cars.com by 36.7% during the 3rd quarter. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC now owns 367,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,486,000 after acquiring an additional 98,559 shares during the last quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cars.com during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,210,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Cars.com during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,496,000. Finally, Hill Path Capital LP lifted its position in Cars.com by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hill Path Capital LP now owns 2,481,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,318,000 after acquiring an additional 468,000 shares during the period. 89.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cars.com Company 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.