Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective (down from $150.00) on shares of Root in a research note on Thursday. Zacks Research raised shares of Root from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Root from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Root from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.40.

Root Stock Down 10.1%

Shares of NASDAQ ROOT opened at $51.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $804.66 million, a PE ratio of 22.36 and a beta of 2.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $66.76 and a 200-day moving average of $78.72. Root has a 52-week low of $51.83 and a 52-week high of $181.14.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.28. Root had a return on equity of 15.34% and a net margin of 2.58%.The firm had revenue of $397.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $381.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Root will post -0.08 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Root by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC now owns 6,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $797,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Root by 4.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in Root by 28.5% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Root by 16.9% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Root by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 15,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,415,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. 59.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.