Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Stock Rating Lowered by Citizens Jmp

Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on ROOT. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Root to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Root from $84.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Root from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Root from $64.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 target price (up from $82.00) on shares of Root in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.13.

Root Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROOT opened at $108.44 on Friday. Root has a twelve month low of $7.22 and a twelve month high of $118.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -88.16 and a beta of 2.34. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $56.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.26.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.61) by $1.96. The company had revenue of $305.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.77 million. Root had a negative net margin of 1.56% and a negative return on equity of 9.81%. The firm’s revenue was up 165.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($3.16) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Root will post -1.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Root news, Director Julie Szudarek sold 2,000 shares of Root stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.33, for a total value of $192,660.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,445,238.99. The trade was a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 75,839 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.21, for a total value of $6,158,885.19. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,107 shares in the company, valued at $3,500,719.47. This trade represents a 63.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 246,905 shares of company stock valued at $20,440,479. Company insiders own 11.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Root

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hood River Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Root in the 2nd quarter worth about $9,547,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Root in the second quarter worth about $9,154,000. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Root in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,997,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Root during the 2nd quarter worth $1,280,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Root during the third quarter valued at about $645,000. 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.