GSA Capital Partners LLP Purchases New Shares in Root, Inc. $ROOT

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 11,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $820,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in Root in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Root during the 3rd quarter worth $144,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Root by 237.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank acquired a new stake in Root during the 3rd quarter worth $194,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

Root Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of ROOT opened at $57.38 on Friday. Root, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.91 and a 52-week high of $162.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $50.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.24. The stock has a market cap of $908.33 million, a PE ratio of 17.18 and a beta of 2.95.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ROOT shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Root from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Root from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. UBS Group set a $50.00 target price on shares of Root and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Root from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Root from $104.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.20.

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.