Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $97.80.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ROOT. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Root from $90.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target (down from $150.00) on shares of Root in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Root from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Root from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Root from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th.

Institutional Trading of Root

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in shares of Root during the third quarter worth about $50,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Root by 511.7% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Root by 28.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Root in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $144,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

Root Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROOT opened at $43.21 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $672.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63 and a beta of 2.90. Root has a 52 week low of $40.91 and a 52 week high of $162.99. 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 50 day moving average of $53.21 and a 200 day moving average of $70.47.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.28. Root had a return on equity of 15.34% and a net margin of 2.58%.The business 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 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Root will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.