Cars.com’s (CARS) Buy Rating Reiterated at DA Davidson

DA Davidson reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $13.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on CARS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 target price (down from $16.00) on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Cars.com from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Cars.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Cars.com from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.00.

Cars.com Stock Performance

Shares of CARS opened at $10.20 on Monday. Cars.com has a one year low of $7.40 and a one year high of $13.97. The company has a market cap of $597.83 million, a PE ratio of 31.86 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $9.23 and a 200-day moving average of $10.86. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $183.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.44 million. Cars.com had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 2.77%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cars.com will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cars.com

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Cars.com by 122.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 29,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 16,347 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 23.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 33,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 6,416 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Cars.com by 19.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 242,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,730,000 after acquiring an additional 39,561 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Cars.com by 62.3% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 218,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,588,000 after acquiring an additional 83,848 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Cars.com by 4.8% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 223,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,653,000 after acquiring an additional 10,276 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.