Venator Management LLC Buys Shares of 10,000 Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)

Venator Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $516,000. Root comprises about 0.2% of Venator Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cannell Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Root by 144.0% during the 4th quarter. Cannell Capital LLC now owns 717,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,515,000 after acquiring an additional 423,120 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP grew its holdings in Root by 43.4% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 46,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 14,096 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in Root in the first quarter worth $1,997,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Root during the second quarter worth $1,280,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Root during the 4th quarter valued at $234,000. 59.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ROOT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 target price (down from $88.00) on shares of Root in a research note on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Root from $71.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Root from $11.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.78.

Root Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of ROOT stock opened at $39.44 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.43. Root, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.22 and a fifty-two week high of $86.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $591.60 million, a PE ratio of -5.08 and a beta of 2.54. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.94.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.52) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.74) by $1.22. Root had a negative net margin of 9.81% and a negative return on equity of 50.80%. The company had revenue of $289.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $264.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($2.55) EPS. Root’s quarterly revenue was up 286.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Root, Inc. will post -2.13 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.