Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Root from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target (down from $150.00) on shares of Root in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised Root from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Root from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Root presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $108.40.

Root Trading Down 10.1%

Root stock opened at $51.88 on Friday. Root has a one year low of $51.83 and a one year high of $181.14. The business’s fifty day moving average is $66.76 and its 200 day moving average is $78.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $804.61 million, a PE ratio of 22.36 and a beta of 2.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $397.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $381.57 million. Root had a net margin of 2.58% and a return on equity of 15.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Root will post -0.08 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Root

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in shares of Root in the third quarter worth about $50,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Root by 511.7% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 734 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in Root by 28.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Root by 237.2% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Root in the third quarter worth approximately $144,000. Institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

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.