Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) Short Interest Down 16.2% in February

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,400,000 shares, a decline of 16.2% from the February 13th total of 1,670,000 shares. Approximately 10.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 492,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ROOT. Citizens Jmp cut Root from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JMP Securities downgraded shares of Root from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Root in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Root from $67.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Root in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC raised its stake in Root by 966.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $682,000 after acquiring an additional 16,348 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Root by 361.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 10,993 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Root by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 20,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,497,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Root during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $249,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Root in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $428,000. 59.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Root Stock Performance

Shares of ROOT stock opened at $154.24 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $111.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -125.40 and a beta of 2.48. Root has a 12 month low of $34.04 and a 12 month high of $158.06.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.63) by $1.93. Root had a negative net margin of 1.56% and a negative return on equity of 9.81%. The firm had revenue of $326.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $287.79 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Root will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Root

Root, Inc provides insurance products and services in the United States. The company offers automobile, homeowners, and renters insurance products. It operates a direct-to-consumer model; and serves customers primarily through mobile applications, as well as through its website. The company's direct distribution channels also cover digital, media, and referral channels, as well as distribution partners and agencies.