Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) Short Interest Down 7.8% in September

Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,540,000 shares, a decrease of 7.8% from the August 31st total of 1,670,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 572,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Approximately 2.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CARS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Cars.com from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. B. Riley reduced their target price on shares of Cars.com from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Cars.com from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Friday, August 23rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Thomas Alex Vetter sold 17,674 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.23, for a total value of $339,871.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 598,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,517,500.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cars.com

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CARS. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,153,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,972,000 after acquiring an additional 430,654 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Cars.com by 94.2% during the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 425,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,313,000 after purchasing an additional 206,415 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 50.3% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 615,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,573,000 after buying an additional 205,871 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Cars.com by 19.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,078,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,252,000 after acquiring an additional 175,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Cars.com in the second quarter worth approximately $2,843,000. 89.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cars.com Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of CARS traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $16.60. The stock had a trading volume of 631,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 474,536. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 2.11. Cars.com has a fifty-two week low of $14.82 and a fifty-two week high of $21.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.16.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $178.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $181.51 million. Cars.com had a net margin of 3.51% and a return on equity of 6.70%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cars.com will post 1.22 EPS for the current year.

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.