Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Cut to Hold at Citizens Jmp

Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on ROOT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Root in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Root to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Root from $64.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Root from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Root from $84.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Root currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.13.

Root Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of ROOT opened at $109.23 on Friday. 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 $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -88.80 and a beta of 2.34. The company has a 50-day moving average of $54.94 and a 200 day moving average of $53.99. Root has a 1-year low of $7.22 and a 1-year high of $118.15.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $305.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($3.16) earnings per share. Root’s quarterly revenue was up 165.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Root will post -1.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Root

In other Root news, Director Julie Szudarek sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.33, for a total value of $192,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,445,238.99. This trade represents a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 50,959 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.78, for a total transaction of $4,320,304.02. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 102 shares in the company, valued at $8,647.56. This trade represents a 99.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 246,905 shares of company stock valued at $20,440,479. Corporate insiders own 11.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Root

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new position in Root in the 1st quarter worth approximately $434,000. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Root in the first quarter worth $1,997,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Root during the second quarter worth $1,280,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Root by 2,355.5% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 11,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 11,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in Root by 76.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 5,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 2,576 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

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.