Consumer Portfolio Services (NASDAQ:CPSS) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

Consumer Portfolio Services (NASDAQ:CPSS) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

Consumer Portfolio Services Stock Performance

Shares of CPSS stock opened at $11.18 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 19.17, a quick ratio of 19.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.52. Consumer Portfolio Services has a 12 month low of $7.03 and a 12 month high of $12.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.31 million, a PE ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 1.98. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.87.

Consumer Portfolio Services (NASDAQ:CPSS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.01). Consumer Portfolio Services had a return on equity of 7.59% and a net margin of 5.59%. The firm had revenue of $100.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.34 million. Analysts forecast that Consumer Portfolio Services will post 0.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Greg Washer sold 10,981 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.06, for a total transaction of $121,449.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 265,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,930,900. This represents a 3.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP April Crisp sold 2,500 shares of Consumer Portfolio Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.15, for a total value of $27,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 17,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $191,913.80. This represents a 12.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 139,756 shares of company stock worth $1,482,459 in the last three months. 69.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Consumer Portfolio Services

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of Consumer Portfolio Services during the third quarter valued at $445,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Consumer Portfolio Services by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 186,220 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,922 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Consumer Portfolio Services by 297.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 8,828 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Consumer Portfolio Services by 1.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 99,481 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $975,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Consumer Portfolio Services in the third quarter worth approximately $960,000. 47.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Consumer Portfolio Services

Consumer Portfolio Services, Inc operates as a specialty finance company in the United States. It is involved in the purchase and service of retail automobile contracts originated by franchised automobile dealers and select independent dealers in the sale of new and used automobiles, light trucks, and passenger vans.