Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Stock Price Down 5.5% – What’s Next?

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) shares were down 5.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $55.25 and last traded at $54.9850. 58,065 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 300,032 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.19.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROOT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Root from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Zacks Research upgraded Root from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Root from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Root from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Root from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.25.

Root Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $848.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47 and a beta of 2.89.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Root

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC purchased a new position in Root in the 1st quarter worth about $1,193,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Root during the first quarter valued at approximately $920,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Root by 49.1% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 68,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,006,000 after buying an additional 22,422 shares during the last quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Root during the fourth quarter worth about $1,594,000. Finally, Findell Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Root by 291.7% in the fourth quarter. Findell Capital Management LLC now owns 235,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,974,000 after purchasing an additional 175,000 shares in the last quarter. 59.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.