Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) Trading Down 5.5% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) dropped 5.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $10.87 and last traded at $10.8160. 146,173 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 957,694 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CARS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Cars.com from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Cars.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Cars.com from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.83.

Cars.com Trading Down 4.1%

The firm has a market cap of $554.39 million, a P/E ratio of 18.17 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $11.83 and a 200-day moving average of $10.53.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. Cars.com had a return on equity of 18.82% and a net margin of 4.73%.The firm had revenue of $179.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Cars.com news, insider Angelique Marks sold 57,980 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.94, for a total value of $692,281.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 149,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,786,653.84. This trade represents a 27.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jr. Donald A. Mcgovern sold 8,000 shares of Cars.com stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.25, for a total value of $98,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 102,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,260,525. This trade represents a 7.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 3.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cars.com

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CARS. Amundi bought a new position in shares of Cars.com in the second quarter worth $192,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in Cars.com in the second quarter worth about $1,118,000. Pale Fire Capital SE grew its position in Cars.com by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 4,008,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,850,000 after buying an additional 51,600 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Cars.com during the 2nd quarter valued at about $144,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Cars.com during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. 89.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Cars.com

Cars.com Inc (NYSE:CARS) operates a digital automotive marketplace that connects consumers with automobile dealers and manufacturers. Its platform helps shoppers research vehicles, compare listings, read reviews, explore pricing and incentives, and connect with dealerships when they are ready to buy or sell a vehicle.

The company provides automotive retailers with digital marketing and technology solutions designed to help them attract and engage customers. Its offerings include vehicle listings, dealer websites, digital retailing tools, customer relationship and lead-management services, reputation management, and advertising solutions.