Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Shares Up 6.8% Following Analyst Upgrade

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)’s share price was up 6.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $78.00 to $80.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Root traded as high as $88.94 and last traded at $87.39. Approximately 122,304 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 290,256 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.79.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on ROOT. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Root to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Root from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JMP Securities lowered shares of Root from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Root from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Root from $84.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 50,959 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.78, for a total transaction of $4,320,304.02. Following the sale, the insider now owns 102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,647.56. The trade was a 99.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Julie Szudarek sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.33, for a total transaction of $192,660.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,445,238.99. This represents a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 246,905 shares of company stock valued at $20,440,479 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Root

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ROOT. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Root in the second quarter valued at about $1,280,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Root by 2,355.5% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 11,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 11,118 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in Root by 76.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 5,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 2,576 shares during the last quarter. Venator Management LLC acquired a new position in Root during the second quarter worth approximately $516,000. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Root during the second quarter worth approximately $9,547,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

Root Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $84.11 and its 200 day moving average is $61.76. The stock has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -69.74 and a beta of 2.55.

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

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.