Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Hits New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) shares reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $59.73 and last traded at $59.43, with a volume of 97991 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $61.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ROOT. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Root from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Root in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Root from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $75.00 target price on Root and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Root in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.60.

Root Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $949.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.49 and a beta of 2.76. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.35) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $387.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.06 million. Root had a net margin of 3.80% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Root, Inc. will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Root

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROOT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Root by 25.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 724,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,854,000 after purchasing an additional 149,064 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Root by 54.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 357,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,708,000 after buying an additional 126,467 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc bought a new position in Root in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,829,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Root by 18.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 234,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,040,000 after buying an additional 36,869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Root by 372.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 228,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,474,000 after purchasing an additional 180,289 shares during the period. 59.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.