Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Trading Up 6.8% After Analyst Upgrade

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)’s stock price shot up 6.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $78.00 to $80.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Root traded as high as $88.94 and last traded at $87.39. 122,304 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 290,256 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.79.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Root from $84.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. JMP Securities cut Root from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 target price (up from $82.00) on shares of Root in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citizens Jmp cut Root from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Root from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Root presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 75,839 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.21, for a total value of $6,158,885.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,500,719.47. This represents a 63.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julie Szudarek sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.33, for a total value of $192,660.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,445,238.99. This trade represents a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 246,905 shares of company stock valued at $20,440,479 over the last quarter. Insiders own 11.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Root

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ROOT. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Root during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Root by 129.1% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 5,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 2,889 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Root during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Root in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $249,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Root during the second quarter worth $288,000. Institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

Root Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of -70.10 and a beta of 2.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $83.83 and a 200-day moving average of $61.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.61) by $1.96. Root had a negative return on equity of 9.81% and a negative net margin of 1.56%. The business had revenue of $305.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $272.77 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($3.16) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 165.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Root, Inc. will post -1.2 earnings per share for the current 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.