Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on ROOT. Wall Street Zen lowered Root from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Root from $51.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Root from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Root from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Root from $172.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.83.

Root Stock Down 3.2%

ROOT opened at $95.18 on Monday. Root has a 1-year low of $34.04 and a 1-year high of $181.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.00 and a beta of 2.24. The business has a 50 day moving average of $106.37 and a 200-day moving average of $125.47.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Root

In other Root news, CEO Alexander E. Timm sold 10,861 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.88, for a total transaction of $965,325.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 157,748 shares in the company, valued at $14,020,642.24. This represents a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Mahtiyar Bonakdarpour sold 5,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.74, for a total value of $516,005.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 274,226 shares in the company, valued at $24,609,041.24. The trade was a 2.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Root

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Root by 67.5% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 18,134 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Root by 13.2% during the second quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 9,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Root in the second quarter valued at about $213,000. Finally, General Equity Holdings LP bought a new position in Root in the second quarter valued at about $2,521,000. Institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

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.