Cetera Investment Advisers Acquires New Stake in Root, Inc. $ROOT

Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in shares of Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in shares of Root in the first quarter worth about $48,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Root by 651.8% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Root by 92.1% in the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 737 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Root in the 1st quarter worth approximately $220,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Root in the 1st quarter worth approximately $306,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROOT has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Root from $51.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Root from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price target (down from $140.00) on shares of Root in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Root from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Root from $172.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.83.

Root Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Root stock opened at $88.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.87. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.58 and a beta of 2.25. Root, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.04 and a fifty-two week high of $181.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.23. Root had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 38.24%. The company had revenue of $382.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $348.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.52) EPS. Root’s quarterly revenue was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Root, Inc. will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Beth A. Birnbaum sold 2,852 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.33, for a total value of $394,517.16. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,975,352.40. This trade represents a 16.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jerri Devard sold 1,895 shares of Root stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total transaction of $268,142.50. Following the sale, the director owned 18,532 shares in the company, valued at $2,622,278. This represents a 9.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,083 shares of company stock worth $2,805,069. 11.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Root 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.