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

Shares of Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $125.80.

Several equities research analysts have commented on ROOT shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Root from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Root from $89.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Root from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Root in a report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Root in a research report on Friday, November 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Root

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of Root in the first quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Root by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 529,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,664,000 after acquiring an additional 2,627 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Root in the 1st quarter worth $3,825,000. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Root in the 1st quarter worth $249,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Root during the first quarter worth $30,786,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

Root Price Performance

Shares of ROOT opened at $73.88 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $79.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.82. The company has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32 and a beta of 2.64. Root has a fifty-two week low of $68.08 and a fifty-two week high of $181.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23.

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

Root Company Profile

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.