Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Stock Price Up 6.5% – Time to Buy?

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)’s stock price traded up 6.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $58.29 and last traded at $60.3010. 60,079 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 326,928 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.63.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROOT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Root from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group set a $50.00 price target on Root and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Root from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Root from $104.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Root from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.20.

Root Trading Up 4.4%

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $48.83 and its 200 day moving average is $64.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $919.89 million, a PE ratio of 17.71 and a beta of 2.95.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $1.25. Root had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 19.97%. The business had revenue of $393.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $398.16 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Root, Inc. will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in Root in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Root by 511.7% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Root during the third quarter valued at approximately $144,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Root by 237.2% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank purchased a new stake in Root in the third quarter worth $194,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

About Root

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.