Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Trading Down 5.1% – What’s Next?

Shares of Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) were down 5.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $48.80 and last traded at $48.98. 129,503 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 303,154 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.59.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Root from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group set a $50.00 price objective on Root and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings raised Root from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Root from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Root from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.25.

Root Stock Up 3.2%

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $56.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $788.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.08 and a beta of 2.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.66. Root had a return on equity of 19.72% and a net margin of 3.78%.The business had revenue of $389.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $395.14 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Root, Inc. will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Root

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Root during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. 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 valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Root during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $144,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position 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 worth $164,000 after buying an additional 899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank bought a new stake in shares of Root in the third quarter worth $194,000. 59.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.