IFC Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Root, Inc. $ROOT

IFC Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) by 52.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 45,034 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,407 shares during the period. Root makes up about 0.7% of IFC Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. IFC Advisors LLC’s holdings in Root were worth $4,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in shares of Root during the third quarter worth about $50,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew 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 buying an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in Root by 28.5% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Root by 237.2% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 899 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Root in the second quarter valued at approximately $213,000. 59.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Root Stock Down 4.3%

ROOT stock opened at $62.95 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $75.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.30. Root, Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.48 and a 52 week high of $181.14. The company has a market cap of $976.35 million, a P/E ratio of 19.02 and a beta of 2.70.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.35) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $387.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.06 million. Root had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 3.80%.Root’s revenue was up 26.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Root, Inc. will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Root from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Root from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Root in a report on Friday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $75.00 target price on shares of Root and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Root in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.60.

Root 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.