StockNews.com Upgrades Consumer Portfolio Services (NASDAQ:CPSS) to Strong-Buy

Consumer Portfolio Services (NASDAQ:CPSS) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Consumer Portfolio Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CPSS opened at $10.36 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.33. Consumer Portfolio Services has a 52 week low of $7.03 and a 52 week high of $12.04. The company has a quick ratio of 19.16, a current ratio of 19.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.76 million, a P/E ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 2.00.

Consumer Portfolio Services (NASDAQ:CPSS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.01). Consumer Portfolio Services had a return on equity of 7.59% and a net margin of 5.59%. The company had revenue of $100.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.34 million. On average, analysts expect that Consumer Portfolio Services will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP April Crisp sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total value of $48,250.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $166,095.80. This represents a 22.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William B. Roberts sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.64, for a total value of $106,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 745,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,927,629.92. The trade was a 1.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 247,256 shares of company stock worth $2,497,284 over the last three months. 69.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in Consumer Portfolio Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $445,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Consumer Portfolio Services by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 521,457 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,942,000 after acquiring an additional 3,418 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Consumer Portfolio Services by 1.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 99,481 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $975,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Consumer Portfolio Services by 5.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 142,520 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 7,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Consumer Portfolio Services by 297.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 8,828 shares during the period. 47.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Consumer Portfolio Services Company Profile

Consumer Portfolio Services, Inc operates as a specialty finance company in the United States. It is involved in the purchase and service of retail automobile contracts originated by franchised automobile dealers and select independent dealers in the sale of new and used automobiles, light trucks, and passenger vans.