Cars.com (CARS) Stock Forecast & Price Target
CARS$11.35+0.40 +3.65%
$634.22M
Market Cap
18.43
P/E
5.67
Forward P/E
65
Score
Cars.com (CARS) Stock Forecast & Price Target
CARS price $11.35 +0.40 +3.65%
- Ticker
- CARS
- Price
- $11.35
- Change
- +0.40 +3.65%
- Market cap ?
- $634.22M
- P/E ?
- 18.43
- Forward P/E ?
- 5.67
- Dividend yield ?
- 0.00%
- Beta ?
- 1.64
- Sector
- Communication Services
- Industry
- Internet Content & Information
- Stocklytics score
- 65
- Value
- 79
- Quality
- 54
- Growth
- 61
Stocklytics score rationale: value 79, quality 54, growth 61.
Financials
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 633106000 | 626262000 | 662127000 | 606682000 | 547503000 | 623683000 | 653876000 | 689183000 | 719152000 | 723239000 |
Cars.com Inc. operates as a leading digital platform, offering comprehensive services and solutions specifically tailored for the automotive sector. Its central purpose is to seamlessly connect prospective car buyers with vehicle sellers. Through its flagship online marketplace, customized dealer websites, and an array of other digital products, the company undertakes several key functions: it prominently showcases…
Fair value
CARS fair value $40.61. Price $11.35. Price is 72% below fair value.
Below fair value, and cheaper than usual. A larger discount than on 98% of days in the past 5 years.
Fair value is an estimate of what one share is worth if future cash flows arrive as modeled. It is not a forecast of the share price. How discounted cash flow works.
Calculated with a 10-year free-cash-flow discount. Starting free cash flow 149.82M. Growth 16.20%. When analyst earnings forecasts are available, free cash flow in those years is forecast earnings times the company's usual conversion of earnings into free cash flow, kept between 60% and 130%. Years with fewer than 3 analyst estimates are left out. Growth then fades in a straight line to terminal growth by year 10, starting from the last well-covered year's growth, or from the pace across those years when the final year slows sharply, kept between 0% and 20%. Without those forecasts, year-1 growth is analyst revenue growth for the next full fiscal year, or 5-year historical revenue growth when that forecast is missing, held for five years, then fading in a straight line to terminal growth by year 10. Terminal growth 3.00%. Discount rate 12.00% (beta 1.6). Beta is kept between 0.8 and 2.0, which on its own would make the discount rate 8.7% to 15.3%. The rate is then capped at 12%. A cap is used because a discount above 12% pushes higher-beta stocks further from the price. The discount rate stays at least 5 percentage points above terminal growth. Shares 55.90M. Net debt 412.24M. The earnings value is next-12-months earnings per share, or trailing earnings when that forecast is missing, times the median P/E of the company's industry. That median uses listed stocks worth at least $10 billion with a positive P/E of 100 or below, and the industry needs at least eight of them. Otherwise the sector median is used when that group also has at least eight, then the market median of those large companies. The multiple used is the lower of that median and 1.25 times the stock's own 10-year median P/E, then kept between 8 and 30. If the stock has no 10-year median, the peer median is kept between 8 and 30. Fair value is the average of the cash-flow value and the earnings value when both exist. Card and credit companies use the earnings value only, because changes in customer receivables distort free cash flow. Model uncertainty is high when fair value is more than 60% from the price, or when most of the cash-flow value sits after year 10.
Model uncertainty high for this stock
Earnings
| Date | EPS actual | EPS estimate | Revenue | Revenue estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-05 | — | 0.53 | — | 183.10M |
| 2026-08-06 | 0.51 | 0.51 | 179.93M | 180.53M |
| 2026-05-07 | 0.45 | 0.48 | 180.22M | 180.16M |
| 2026-02-26 | 0.44 | 0.56 | 183.90M | 183.45M |
| 2025-11-06 | 0.48 | 0.50 | 181.57M | 181.36M |
| 2025-08-07 | 0.41 | 0.46 | 178.74M | 179.45M |
| 2025-05-08 | 0.37 | 0.49 | 179.02M | 179.72M |
| 2025-02-27 | 0.49 | 0.52 | 180.43M | 183.83M |
| 2024-11-07 | 0.41 | 0.44 | 179.65M | 179.83M |
| 2024-08-08 | 0.38 | 0.47 | 178.89M | 181.83M |
| 2024-05-09 | 0.01 | 0.09 | 180.18M | 179.43M |
| 2024-02-22 | 0.12 | 0.16 | 179.61M | 178.40M |
| 2023-11-02 | 0.07 | 0.10 | 174.33M | 172.83M |
| 2023-08-03 | 1.37 | 0.10 | 168.18M | 168.97M |
| 2023-05-04 | 0.17 | 0.06 | 167.07M | 166.90M |
| 2023-02-23 | 0.15 | 0.19 | 168.20M | 165.79M |
| 2022-11-03 | -0.04 | 0.11 | 164.59M | 164.65M |
| 2022-08-03 | 0.08 | 0.27 | 162.87M | 161.91M |
| 2022-05-05 | 0.06 | 0.39 | 158.21M | 157.60M |
| 2022-02-24 | -0.09 | 0.43 | 158.31M | 158.46M |
| 2021-11-04 | 0.03 | 0.08 | 156.55M | 156.28M |
| 2021-08-05 | 0.08 | 0.41 | 155.53M | 155.53M |
| 2021-05-06 | 0.08 | 0.36 | 153.29M | 150.24M |
| 2021-02-25 | 0.09 | 0.45 | 153.01M | 146.81M |
| 2020-11-09 | 0.50 | 0.39 | 144.39M | 103.67M |
| 2020-07-30 | 0.12 | -0.38 | 102.01M | 323.03M |
| 2020-05-06 | 0.32 | 0.24 | 148.09M | 111.07M |
| 2020-02-26 | 0.63 | 0.37 | 152.19M | 111.98M |
| 2019-11-06 | 0.32 | 0.36 | 152.09M | 171.10M |
| 2019-08-05 | 0.30 | 0.27 | 148.21M | 133.39M |
| 2019-05-10 | 0.31 | 0.04 | 154.20M | 19.90M |
| 2019-02-28 | 0.14 | 0.58 | 164.35M | 270.00M |
| 2018-11-07 | 0.23 | 0.22 | 169.31M | 161.95M |
| 2018-08-08 | 0.18 | 0.61 | 168.51M | 243.39M |
| 2018-05-09 | 0.01 | 0.64 | 159.96M | 2.88B |
| 2018-03-06 | 2.11 | 0.31 | 156.56M | 23.01M |
| 2017-11-08 | 0.29 | 0.31 | 159.90M | 181.96M |
| 2017-08-09 | 0.35 | 0.30 | 156.62M | 134.23M |
| 2017-06-20 | 0.38 | — | 153.17M | — |
| 2016-12-31 | 0.68 | — | 161.67M | — |
Dividends
Yield 0.00%. Payout ratio 0.00%. Frequency —.
Safety score 37/100 · Watch. Payout ratio is 0% of earnings. Free-cash-flow coverage is not available, so this part stays neutral. No dividend history was found. There is no dividend yield.
| Ex-date | Dividend | Record | Payment | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No data yet. | ||||
Insider trades
| Date | Insider | Action | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-19 | Ziegler Trent | Other | 0 | — | — |
| 2026-10-19 | Ziegler Trent | Buy | 332.07K | — | — |
| 2026-08-20 | McGovern Jr. Donald A. | Sell | 8.00K | $12.25 | 98.00K |
| 2026-08-17 | Marks Angelique Strong | Sell | 57.98K | $11.94 | 692.28K |
| 2026-06-12 | Jain Sonia | Sell | 34.02K | $9.49 | 322.86K |
| 2026-06-11 | Jain Sonia | Sell | 52.58K | $9.56 | 502.66K |
| 2026-06-05 | WIENER BRYAN | Buy | 18.27K | — | — |
| 2026-06-05 | Hale Thomas E | Buy | 18.27K | — | — |
| 2026-06-05 | Ross Jenell | Buy | 18.27K | — | — |
| 2026-06-05 | Greenthal Jill A | Buy | 18.27K | — | — |
| 2026-06-05 | Subramanian Bala | Buy | 18.27K | — | — |
| 2026-06-05 | McGovern Jr. Donald A. | Buy | 18.27K | — | — |
| 2026-06-05 | FORBES SCOTT E | Buy | 25.48K | — | — |
| 2026-03-13 | Ross Jenell | Buy | 2.00K | $7.56 | 15.08K |
| 2026-03-11 | Marks Angelique Strong | Buy | 64.60K | — | — |
| 2026-03-11 | Gosselin Lisa | Buy | 124.28K | — | — |
| 2026-03-11 | Hartmann Tobias | Buy | 344.15K | — | — |
| 2026-03-11 | Jain Sonia | Buy | 156.27K | — | — |
| 2026-03-02 | Vetter Thomas Alex | Buy | 137.80K | — | — |
| 2026-03-02 | Vetter Thomas Alex | Sell | 67.44K | $8.54 | 575.97K |
| 2026-03-02 | Vetter Thomas Alex | Sell | 71.67K | $8.54 | 612.02K |
| 2026-03-02 | Jain Sonia | Buy | 26.54K | — | — |
| 2026-03-02 | Jain Sonia | Sell | 7.39K | $8.54 | 63.12K |
| 2026-03-02 | Jain Sonia | Sell | 19.62K | $8.54 | 167.56K |
| 2026-03-02 | Gosselin Lisa | Sell | 8.26K | $8.54 | 70.51K |
| 2026-03-02 | Marks Angelique Strong | Sell | 16.44K | $8.54 | 140.41K |
| 2025-12-22 | Hartmann Tobias | Other | 0 | — | — |
| 2025-12-22 | Hartmann Tobias | Buy | 233.83K | — | — |
| 2025-12-22 | Hartmann Tobias | Buy | 155.88K | — | — |
| 2025-12-17 | Jain Sonia | Sell | 11.40K | $13.45 | 153.33K |
| 2025-12-02 | Crawford Matthew B. | Sell | 27.36K | $12.03 | 329.12K |
| 2025-10-01 | Jain Sonia | Sell | 29.23K | $12.33 | 360.36K |
| 2025-08-08 | Crawford Matthew B. | Sell | 15.00K | $11.77 | 176.55K |
| 2025-06-06 | Subramanian Bala | Buy | 18.30K | — | — |
| 2025-06-06 | WIENER BRYAN | Buy | 18.30K | — | — |
| 2025-06-06 | Ross Jenell | Buy | 18.30K | — | — |
| 2025-06-06 | FORBES SCOTT E | Buy | 25.53K | — | — |
| 2025-06-06 | McGovern Jr. Donald A. | Buy | 18.30K | — | — |
| 2025-06-06 | Kelly Michael Joseph | Buy | 18.30K | — | — |
| 2025-06-06 | Greenthal Jill A | Buy | 18.30K | — | — |
| 2025-06-06 | Hale Thomas E | Buy | 18.30K | — | — |
| 2025-06-06 | Revelle Greg | Buy | 18.30K | — | — |
| 2025-06-06 | DEVARD JERRI | Buy | 18.30K | — | — |
| 2025-05-09 | Vetter Thomas Alex | Buy | 631 | $10.68 | 6.74K |
| 2025-05-09 | Vetter Thomas Alex | Buy | 27.24K | $10.75 | 292.82K |
| 2025-05-01 | Marks Angelique Strong | Sell | 6.35K | $11.74 | 74.57K |
| 2025-03-21 | Crawford Matthew B. | Buy | 36.24K | — | — |
| 2025-03-21 | Jain Sonia | Buy | 91.02K | — | — |
| 2025-03-21 | Marks Angelique Strong | Buy | 73.07K | — | — |
| 2025-03-21 | Vetter Thomas Alex | Buy | 257.73K | — | — |
| 2025-03-21 | Gosselin Lisa | Buy | 93.43K | — | — |
| 2025-03-03 | Crawford Matthew B. | Sell | 8.17K | $13.20 | 107.88K |
| 2025-03-03 | Jain Sonia | Sell | 10.95K | $13.20 | 144.59K |
| 2025-03-03 | Marks Angelique Strong | Sell | 9.19K | $13.20 | 121.29K |
| 2025-03-03 | Vetter Thomas Alex | Sell | 39.64K | $13.20 | 523.23K |
| 2025-02-24 | Gosselin Lisa | Other | 0 | — | — |
| 2024-12-31 | Crawford Matthew B. | Other | 0 | — | — |
| 2024-12-02 | Greenthal Jill A | Sell | 10.99K | $19.85 | 218.15K |
| 2024-11-27 | Jain Sonia | Sell | 25.03K | $19.62 | 491.07K |
| 2024-11-26 | Greenthal Jill A | Sell | 4.52K | $19.86 | 89.85K |
| 2024-11-26 | Jain Sonia | Sell | 24.97K | $19.74 | 492.93K |
| 2024-11-25 | McGovern Jr. Donald A. | Sell | 5.00K | — | — |
| 2024-11-08 | Crawford Matthew B. | Sell | 10.00K | $17.51 | 175.10K |
| 2024-10-01 | Jain Sonia | Sell | 32.64K | $16.60 | 541.77K |
| 2024-07-12 | Vetter Thomas Alex | Sell | 17.67K | $19.23 | 339.87K |
| 2024-06-14 | Vetter Thomas Alex | Sell | 17.67K | $20.09 | 354.91K |
| 2024-06-05 | DEVARD JERRI | Buy | 8.73K | — | — |
| 2024-06-05 | FORBES SCOTT E | Buy | 12.36K | — | — |
| 2024-06-05 | Greenthal Jill A | Buy | 8.73K | — | — |
| 2024-06-05 | Hale Thomas E | Buy | 8.73K | — | — |
| 2024-06-05 | Kelly Michael Joseph | Buy | 8.73K | — | — |
| 2024-06-05 | McGovern Jr. Donald A. | Buy | 8.73K | — | — |
| 2024-06-05 | Revelle Greg | Buy | 8.73K | — | — |
| 2024-06-05 | Ross Jenell | Buy | 8.73K | — | — |
| 2024-06-05 | Subramanian Bala | Buy | 8.73K | — | — |
| 2024-06-05 | WIENER BRYAN | Buy | 8.73K | — | — |
| 2024-06-05 | WIENER BRYAN | Sell | 10.00K | $20.51 | 205.10K |
| 2024-05-28 | Vetter Thomas Alex | Sell | 25.37K | $19.00 | 482.09K |
| 2024-05-24 | Marks Angelique Strong | Sell | 16.99K | $18.57 | 315.49K |
| 2024-05-23 | Marks Angelique Strong | Sell | 2.85K | $18.50 | 52.65K |
| 2024-05-13 | Crawford Matthew B. | Sell | 0 | — | — |
| 2024-05-09 | Vetter Thomas Alex | Sell | 27.62K | $19.00 | 524.88K |
| 2024-05-01 | Marks Angelique Strong | Sell | 9.85K | $16.59 | 163.41K |
| 2024-03-14 | Miller Douglas Neal | Buy | 44.27K | — | — |
| 2024-03-14 | Vetter Thomas Alex | Buy | 177.10K | — | — |
| 2024-03-14 | Marks Angelique Strong | Buy | 50.21K | — | — |
| 2024-03-14 | Jain Sonia | Buy | 60.14K | — | — |
| 2024-03-08 | Miller Douglas Neal | Sell | 14.34K | $18.54 | 265.94K |
| 2024-03-07 | Miller Douglas Neal | Sell | 1.82K | $18.50 | 33.73K |
| 2024-03-06 | Miller Douglas Neal | Sell | 16.17K | $18.15 | 293.43K |
| 2024-03-01 | Miller Douglas Neal | Sell | 24.16K | $18.60 | 449.28K |
| 2024-03-01 | Marks Angelique Strong | Sell | 6.47K | $18.60 | 120.32K |
| 2024-03-01 | Jain Sonia | Sell | 8.32K | $18.60 | 154.84K |
| 2024-03-01 | Vetter Thomas Alex | Sell | 41.04K | $18.60 | 763.40K |
| 2024-02-26 | Miller Douglas Neal | Sell | 14.00K | $17.92 | 250.88K |
| 2024-02-15 | Vetter Thomas Alex | Sell | 2.67K | $19.00 | 50.67K |
| 2024-02-14 | Vetter Thomas Alex | Sell | 15.00K | $19.00 | 284.98K |
| 2024-02-12 | Vetter Thomas Alex | Sell | 17.67K | $19.00 | 335.65K |
| 2023-12-14 | Vetter Thomas Alex | Sell | 17.67K | $19.00 | 335.65K |
| 2023-11-30 | Jain Sonia | Sell | 13.89K | $18.64 | 258.89K |
Institutional holders
Latest filed quarter: Q2 2026.
Institutions holding: 206, holders -3 vs prior quarter. Ownership 100.72%.
| Holder | Shares | Change | Change % | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FMR LLC | 8.38M | -409.77K | -4.66% | 91.73M |
| BLACKROCK, INC. | 4.17M | -136.90K | -3.18% | 45.61M |
| PALE FIRE CAPITAL SE | 4.01M | 51.60K | +1.30% | 43.85M |
| DIMENSIONAL FUND ADVISORS LP | 3.35M | -48.99K | -1.44% | 36.68M |
| HILL PATH CAPITAL LP | 2.48M | 0 | 0.00% | 27.14M |
| BROWN ADVISORY INC | 2.37M | -27.60K | -1.15% | 25.94M |
| VANGUARD CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC | 2.34M | -135.28K | -5.47% | 25.60M |
| BREACH INLET CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC | 2.20M | 73.26K | +3.45% | 24.04M |
| AMERICAN CENTURY COMPANIES INC | 2.14M | 325.76K | +17.96% | 23.40M |
| JPMORGAN CHASE & CO | 1.58M | 50.10K | +3.28% | 17.57M |
| STATE STREET CORP | 1.40M | -65.25K | -4.44% | 15.36M |
| GEODE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC | 1.27M | -54.21K | -4.09% | 13.92M |
| TWO SIGMA INVESTMENTS, LP | 1.20M | 1.05M | +714.72% | 13.13M |
| SIXTH STREET PARTNERS MANAGEMENT COMPANY, L.P. | 903.29K | 903.29K | New | 9.88M |
| CHARLES SCHWAB INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC | 903.29K | -21.43K | -2.32% | 9.88M |
| DANA INVESTMENT ADVISORS, INC. | 855.62K | 143.37K | +20.13% | 9.36M |
| MORGAN STANLEY | 852.51K | 115.17K | +15.62% | 9.33M |
| JANE STREET GROUP, LLC | 844.73K | -127.70K | -13.13% | 9.24M |
| NORTHERN TRUST CORP | 647.57K | 14.67K | +2.32% | 7.08M |
| CITADEL ADVISORS LLC | 606.92K | 66.67K | +12.34% | 6.64M |
| LPL FINANCIAL LLC | 551.54K | 35.51K | +6.88% | 6.03M |
| VANGUARD PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT LLC | 551.22K | -15.47K | -2.73% | 6.03M |
| NORDEA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AB | 481.56K | -5.31K | -1.09% | 5.27M |
| PACER ADVISORS, INC. | 481.29K | 40.48K | +9.18% | 5.26M |
| D. E. SHAW & CO., INC. | 473.56K | 125.88K | +36.21% | 5.18M |
Forecast
Consensus Hold from 7 analysts. Average price target $11.50, +1.4% versus the current price. Low $11.50. High $11.50.
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