Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) Trading Up 4.9% – Time to Buy?

Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) was up 4.9% on Friday . The company traded as high as $12.62 and last traded at $12.62. Approximately 167,784 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 469,747 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.03.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CARS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on Cars.com from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Monday, February 24th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Cars.com from $21.00 to $14.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Cars.com from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cars.com currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.50.

Cars.com Stock Up 9.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $853.91 million, a PE ratio of 22.74 and a beta of 2.15. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cars.com

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CARS. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cars.com by 62,357.6% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,493,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,798,000 after purchasing an additional 2,489,939 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Cars.com by 26.0% during 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. SG Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Cars.com during the 4th quarter valued at $10,908,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Cars.com by 609.2% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 442,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,675,000 after acquiring an additional 380,439 shares during the period. Finally, Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cars.com during the fourth quarter worth $4,460,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.15% of the company’s stock.

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.