Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) Stock Price Up 5.7% – Still a Buy?
by Michael Walen · The Markets DailyCars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS – Get Free Report)’s share price traded up 5.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $8.76 and last traded at $8.7750. 136,281 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 1,315,520 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.30.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research 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 report on Monday, March 9th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Friday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price objective (down from $16.00) on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Cars.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Cars.com from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.08.
Read Our Latest Research Report on CARS
Cars.com Trading Up 4.7%
The firm has a market cap of $547.38 million, a PE ratio of 29.17 and a beta of 1.46. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $9.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.
Cars.com (NYSE:CARS – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.12). The firm 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 firm’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Institutional Trading of Cars.com
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC now owns 405,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,948,000 after acquiring an additional 38,496 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Cars.com by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 252,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,083,000 after purchasing an additional 25,760 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cars.com in the fourth quarter valued at about $168,000. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cars.com by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 47,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 4,298 shares during the period. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its stake in shares of Cars.com by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 36,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.15% of the company’s stock.
About Cars.com
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.