Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) Short Interest Down 10.0% in March

Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,620,000 shares, a drop of 10.0% from the March 15th total of 1,800,000 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 378,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Insider Activity at Cars.com

In related news, insider Douglas Neal Miller sold 1,823 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total value of $33,725.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 181,596 shares in the company, valued at $3,359,526. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Douglas Neal Miller sold 1,823 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total value of $33,725.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 181,596 shares in the company, valued at $3,359,526. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas Alex Vetter sold 14,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total transaction of $284,981.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 553,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,523,834. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,488 shares of company stock worth $654,361 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cars.com

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CARS. Boston Partners grew its stake in Cars.com by 120.1% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,723,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,519,000 after acquiring an additional 940,376 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake 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 valued at $18,237,000 after buying an additional 423,507 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cars.com by 196.2% during 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 during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cars.com by 1,350.3% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 215,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 201,106 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cars.com by 39.9% during the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 467,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,265,000 after buying an additional 133,416 shares during the period. 89.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cars.com Price Performance

Shares of Cars.com stock remained flat at $16.16 during trading on Wednesday. The company had a trading volume of 269,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 369,134. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Cars.com has a 1 year low of $14.82 and a 1 year high of $22.84. The stock has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 9.34 and a beta of 2.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $17.65 and a 200 day moving average of $17.84.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.07). Cars.com had a return on equity of 25.78% and a net margin of 17.19%. The company had revenue of $179.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Cars.com will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Cars.com Company Profile

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.