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

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $59.13.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ROOT. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Root from $64.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citizens Jmp downgraded Root from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JMP Securities cut 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 target (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Root in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Root to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd.

Root Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROOT opened at $77.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Root has a 1-year low of $7.22 and a 1-year high of $118.15. The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -62.94 and a beta of 2.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $83.31 and a 200-day moving average of $60.76.

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

Insider Activity at Root

In related news, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 75,839 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,107 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julie Szudarek sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 15,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,445,238.99. The trade was a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 246,905 shares of company stock valued at $20,440,479 over the last three months. 11.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Root during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Root by 129.1% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 5,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 2,889 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Root during the third quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Root during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $249,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Root during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $288,000. 59.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Root

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.