Versor Investments LP Purchases Shares of 5,710 Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)

Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 5,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Root during the second quarter worth approximately $288,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in shares of Root by 76.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 5,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 2,576 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Root in the 3rd quarter valued at $412,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new position in shares of Root during the 1st quarter valued at $434,000. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Root by 5.5% during the second quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 9,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $480,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. 59.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ROOT. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Root in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Root in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Root from $64.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Root to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Root from $84.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.13.

Insider Transactions at Root

In related 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 transaction 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 approximately $3,500,719.47. This trade represents a 63.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 244,905 shares of company stock worth $20,247,819 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.71% of the company’s stock.

Root Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROOT opened at $88.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of -72.28 and a beta of 2.34. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.53. Root, Inc. has a 1-year low of $7.22 and a 1-year high of $118.15.

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

Root Company Profile

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.