Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Purchases New Position in Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 98,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,704,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Cars.com as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CARS. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Cars.com by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,178,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,021,000 after buying an additional 655,518 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Cars.com by 609.2% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 442,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,675,000 after buying an additional 380,439 shares in the last quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cars.com in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,460,000. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in Cars.com in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,890,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Cars.com in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,408,000. Institutional investors own 89.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CARS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Cars.com from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Cars.com from $21.00 to $14.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Cars.com in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Cars.com from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cars.com presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.30.

Cars.com Stock Up 5.2%

Shares of CARS stock opened at $11.36 on Wednesday. Cars.com Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.56 and a 12 month high of $21.24. The firm has a market cap of $721.68 million, a PE ratio of 19.59 and a beta of 1.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $11.43 and a 200-day moving average of $15.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.02). Cars.com had a return on equity of 9.99% and a net margin of 5.46%. The business had revenue of $179.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.82 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Thomas Alex Vetter acquired 27,870 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $10.75 per share, for a total transaction of $299,602.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 844,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,082,642.75. This trade represents a 3.41% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.