Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $97.80.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Root from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target (down from $150.00) on shares of Root in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Root from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Root from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th.

Root Stock Performance

Root stock opened at $43.90 on Monday. Root has a fifty-two week low of $42.65 and a fifty-two week high of $162.99. The company has a market capitalization of $683.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92 and a beta of 2.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $55.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $381.57 million. Root had a return on equity of 15.34% and a net margin of 2.58%.The business’s revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Root will post -0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Root

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Root by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 946,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,376,000 after purchasing an additional 74,427 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its stake in Root by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 7,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $506,000 after buying an additional 1,750 shares during the last quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP acquired a new stake in Root in the 4th quarter worth about $1,018,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Root by 780.1% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 220,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,949,000 after buying an additional 195,725 shares during the period. Finally, Findell Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Root by 291.7% in the 4th quarter. Findell Capital Management LLC now owns 235,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,974,000 after buying an additional 175,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.