Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS – Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,760,000 shares, an increase of 5.4% from the November 30th total of 1,670,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 380,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.6 days. Approximately 2.9% of the company’s stock are short sold.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CARS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Cars.com from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 16th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Cars.com in a research note on Friday, September 15th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.54.
Cars.com Price Performance
Shares of Cars.com stock traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $17.84. The stock had a trading volume of 280,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 299,428. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $18.52 and its 200 day moving average is $18.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Cars.com has a twelve month low of $13.70 and a twelve month high of $22.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.35 and a beta of 2.10.
Cars.com (NYSE:CARS – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.03). Cars.com had a return on equity of 27.83% and a net margin of 17.76%. The business had revenue of $174.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.02 million. Equities analysts expect that Cars.com will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Insider Buying and Selling at Cars.com
In other Cars.com news, CEO Thomas Alex Vetter sold 14,066 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total transaction of $267,254.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 643,149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,831. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Sonia Jain sold 21,956 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.02, for a total value of $417,603.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 273,033 shares in the company, valued at $5,193,087.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Thomas Alex Vetter sold 14,066 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total transaction of $267,254.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 643,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,219,831. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 79,217 shares of company stock worth $1,504,667. 1.59% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CARS. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Cars.com by 599.5% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 782,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,051,000 after acquiring an additional 670,982 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Cars.com by 64.3% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,081,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,237,000 after purchasing an additional 423,507 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Cars.com by 196.2% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management LLC now owns 380,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,378,000 after buying an additional 252,170 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Cars.com by 1,350.3% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 215,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 201,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Cars.com by 39.9% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 467,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,265,000 after buying an additional 133,416 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.77% of the company’s stock.
About Cars.com
Cars.com Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a digital automotive marketplace that connects local car dealers to consumers in the United States. The company offers a suite of digital solutions that creates connections between individuals researching cars or looking to purchase a car with car dealerships and automotive original equipment manufacturers.