UPDATE: Stephens Downgrades America's Car-Mart to Equal-Weight, Lowers PT as Competitive Pressures Continue to Weigh on the Business

In a report published Thursday, Stephens analyst John Hecht downgraded the rating on

from Overweight to Equal-Weight, and lowered the price target from $47.00 to $40.00. In the report, Stephens noted, “America's Car-Mart, Inc. (CRMT) reported fiscal 2Q14 EPS of $0.61 versus our $0.77 and the Street's estimate of $0.80 as competitive pressures appear to be hampering more than just CRMT's credit performance at this stage. Given the challenging operating conditions and forecasted effects on CRMT, we are reducing our price target from $47 to $40 based on our estimate reductions and a lower multiple to reflect where CRMT has traded historically in corrective cycles. Our $40 price target equates to 12x our revised FY15 EPS estimate of $3.37 and we are downgrading the stock to Equal-Weight from Overweight given the price target is near the current price and does not warrant an Overweight rating.” America's Car-Mart closed on Wednesday at $39.92.