Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Lowered to “Strong Sell” Rating by TD Cowen

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) was downgraded by analysts at TD Cowen from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Root from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Root from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group set a $50.00 target price on shares of Root and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of 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 report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Root from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Root has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.25.

Root Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ ROOT opened at $55.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $864.19 million, a P/E ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 2.89. Root has a 1-year low of $40.91 and a 1-year high of $104.47. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $56.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.17.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last issued 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. Root had a return on equity of 19.72% and a net margin of 3.78%.The company had revenue of $389.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $395.14 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Root will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Root

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Root in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,193,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Root during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $920,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Root by 49.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Findell Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $16,974,000 after buying an additional 175,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prosperitas Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Root in the fourth quarter worth $1,594,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

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.