BTIG Research Issues Positive Forecast for Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) Stock Price

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) had its price target lifted by stock analysts at BTIG Research from $14.00 to $16.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. BTIG Research‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.48% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Cars.com from $13.00 to $11.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Cars.com from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Cars.com from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.92.

Cars.com Trading Up 6.8%

NYSE CARS traded up $0.87 during trading on Thursday, hitting $13.62. 650,903 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 934,674. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $10.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 2.00. Cars.com has a 12-month low of $7.40 and a 12-month high of $13.69. The firm has a market cap of $729.03 million, a P/E ratio of 23.74 and a beta of 1.66.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $181.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.05 million. Cars.com had a return on equity of 18.82% and a net margin of 4.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cars.com will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Cars.com

In related news, insider Angelique Marks sold 57,980 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.94, for a total value of $692,281.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 149,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,786,653.84. This trade represents a 27.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jr. Donald A. Mcgovern sold 8,000 shares of Cars.com stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.25, for a total transaction of $98,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 102,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,260,525. This trade represents a 7.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CARS. Pale Fire Capital SE raised its holdings 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 worth $43,850,000 after purchasing an additional 51,600 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Cars.com by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,401,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,620,000 after purchasing an additional 262,443 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cars.com by 77.9% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 580,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,711,000 after purchasing an additional 253,991 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Cars.com by 16.7% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 440,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,579,000 after buying an additional 63,234 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Cars.com by 47.0% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 308,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,503,000 after buying an additional 98,499 shares during the period. 89.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cars.com Company Profile

Cars.com Inc (NYSE: CARS) operates a digital automotive marketplace that connects consumers with automotive dealers and manufacturers. Its platform enables shoppers to research vehicles, compare listings, read reviews, obtain financing information and connect with sellers when buying new or used cars.

The company provides automotive retailers with digital marketing, advertising, inventory merchandising, website and digital retailing solutions, as well as data and analytics tools. Its portfolio includes the Cars.com marketplace and related brands and services focused on dealer reviews, vehicle financing, automotive content and customer engagement.

Cars.com primarily serves the United States automotive market, working with consumers, franchised and independent dealerships, original equipment manufacturers and other industry participants.