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

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $125.80.

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

Root Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROOT opened at $73.24 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13 and a beta of 2.64. 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 has a 12 month low of $68.08 and a 12 month high of $181.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $79.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.41.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.35) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.08. The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 26.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Root will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Root

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Root by 66.3% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 679,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,699,000 after buying an additional 271,097 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Root in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,829,000. American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Root in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,786,000. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Root by 372.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 228,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,474,000 after purchasing an additional 180,289 shares during the period. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Root during the 1st quarter worth approximately $20,423,000. 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.