Cars.com Inc. $CARS Position Boosted by Pale Fire Capital SE

Pale Fire Capital SE increased its holdings in Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) by 498.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,956,618 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,295,117 shares during the period. Cars.com comprises approximately 2.7% of Pale Fire Capital SE’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Pale Fire Capital SE owned about 0.07% of Cars.com worth $32,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Cars.com by 122.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 29,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 16,347 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Cars.com by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 33,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 6,416 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Cars.com by 19.5% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 242,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,730,000 after purchasing an additional 39,561 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Cars.com by 62.3% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 218,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,588,000 after purchasing an additional 83,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Cars.com by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 223,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,653,000 after purchasing an additional 10,276 shares during the last quarter. 89.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cars.com Stock Performance

Cars.com stock opened at $11.45 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.33. Cars.com Inc. has a 1-year low of $7.40 and a 1-year high of $13.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $640.15 million, a PE ratio of 26.63 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.03). Cars.com had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The business had revenue of $180.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.16 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CARS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Cars.com from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a report on Monday, April 13th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Cars.com from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. B. Riley Financial downgraded shares of Cars.com from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Cars.com from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cars.com has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Sonia Jain sold 34,021 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.49, for a total value of $322,859.29. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 312,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,968,785.17. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cars.com Profile

Cars.com operates as a leading online automotive marketplace in the United States, connecting car shoppers with new and used vehicle listings from dealerships and private sellers. The platform enables consumers to research makes and models, compare prices, read expert and user reviews, and access tools such as TrueCost to estimate ownership expenses over time. Through its website and mobile applications, Cars.com aims to simplify the car-buying process by aggregating detailed vehicle data, payment calculators, and dealership ratings into a single user-friendly experience.

On the dealer side, Cars.com provides a suite of marketing and lead-generation services designed to help automotive retailers reach potential buyers and manage their online presence.