Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $59.13.

A number of analysts have recently commented on ROOT shares. JMP Securities lowered shares of Root from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective (up from $82.00) on shares of Root in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Root from $84.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Root from $64.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Root from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 75,839 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.21, for a total transaction of $6,158,885.19. Following the sale, the insider now owns 43,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,500,719.47. This trade represents a 63.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Julie Szudarek sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.33, for a total transaction of $192,660.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,445,238.99. The trade was a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 246,905 shares of company stock valued at $20,440,479. Corporate insiders own 11.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Root

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ROOT. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Root by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 176,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,683,000 after buying an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Root by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 9,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $480,000 after buying an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Root during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Root by 15.2% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 9,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Root by 76.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 5,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 2,576 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

Root Trading Up 2.6 %

ROOT opened at $75.32 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $81.07 and a 200-day moving average of $59.93. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of -61.24 and a beta of 2.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. Root has a 52 week low of $7.22 and a 52 week high of $118.15.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.61) by $1.96. Root had a negative return on equity of 9.81% and a negative net margin of 1.56%. The firm had revenue of $305.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($3.16) EPS. Root’s quarterly revenue was up 165.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Root will post -1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Root Company Profile

Root, Inc provides insurance products and services in the United States. The company offers automobile, homeowners, and renters insurance products. It operates a direct-to-consumer model; and serves customers primarily through mobile applications, as well as through its website. The company's direct distribution channels also cover digital, media, and referral channels, as well as distribution partners and agencies.