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

Shares of Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $121.60.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ROOT. Zacks Research lowered Root from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Root in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Root from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $75.00 target price on shares of Root and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Root in a report on Friday, November 7th.

Root Stock Down 6.7%

Root stock opened at $74.26 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $78.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.44 and a beta of 2.70. Root has a 1-year low of $68.08 and a 1-year high of $181.14.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.35) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $387.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.06 million. Root had a net margin of 3.80% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Root will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Root

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ROOT. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in Root by 754.6% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 20,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,628,000 after acquiring an additional 18,134 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Root by 32.6% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 16,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,075,000 after purchasing an additional 3,982 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Root in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,497,000. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its position in Root by 50.7% during the second quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 10,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after buying an additional 3,486 shares during the period. Finally, IFC Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Root during the second quarter worth about $3,791,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

About Root

Root, trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker ROOT, is a Columbus, Ohio–based insurance company that leverages mobile technology and data analytics to offer personalized auto insurance policies. Founded in 2015 by Alex Timm and Dan Manges, Root set out to transform traditional underwriting by focusing on individual driving behavior rather than broad demographic factors.

The company’s core product is usage-based auto insurance, delivered through a smartphone app that monitors driving patterns such as speed, braking and phone usage behind the wheel.