KAR Auction Services, Inc (KAR) Upgraded by BidaskClub to “Hold”

KAR Auction Services, Inc (NYSE:KAR) was upgraded by equities researchers at BidaskClub from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday, July 31st.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Gabelli assumed coverage on shares of KAR Auction Services in a research report on Friday, April 7th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of KAR Auction Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.33.

KAR Auction Services (NYSE:KAR) traded down 1.30% during midday trading on Monday, hitting $43.93. The company had a trading volume of 1,140,737 shares. The stock has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50 day moving average is $41.92 and its 200 day moving average is $43.39. KAR Auction Services has a 12-month low of $38.16 and a 12-month high of $47.03.

KAR Auction Services (NYSE:KAR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 8th. The specialty retailer reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.07. KAR Auction Services had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 21.46%. The firm had revenue of $858 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $850.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that KAR Auction Services will post $2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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In other KAR Auction Services news, COO Donald S. Gottwald sold 10,000 shares of KAR Auction Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.68, for a total value of $436,800.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John W. Kett sold 9,913 shares of KAR Auction Services stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.92, for a total transaction of $435,378.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 51,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,275,275.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,932 shares of company stock valued at $1,713,678. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Archford Capital Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of KAR Auction Services by 832.0% in the second quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 932 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. Acrospire Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of KAR Auction Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of KAR Auction Services by 7.2% in the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 2,830 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of KAR Auction Services by 378.4% in the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,966 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 2,346 shares during the period. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co bought a new stake in shares of KAR Auction Services during the second quarter valued at about $150,000.

About KAR Auction Services

KAR Auction Services, Inc is a provider of whole car auction services in North America, and salvage auction services in North America and the United Kingdom. The Company operates through three segments: ADESA, Inc (ADESA Auctions or ADESA), Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc (IAA) and Automotive Finance Corporation (AFC).