Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also commented on ROOT. UBS Group set a $50.00 price objective on Root and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Root from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Root from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Root from $104.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Root in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Root presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.20.

Root Stock Performance

Shares of Root stock opened at $53.85 on Monday. Root has a one year low of $40.91 and a one year high of $162.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $852.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12 and a beta of 2.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $398.16 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Root will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Root

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Root in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $920,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 22,422 shares during the period. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Root in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,193,000. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Root by 122.2% in the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,087,000 after purchasing an additional 25,986 shares during the period. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of Root in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $332,000. 59.82% of the stock is currently 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.