Analysts Set Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) Price Target at $59.13

Shares of Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the nine research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $59.13.

Several analysts recently issued reports on ROOT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 target price (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Root in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Root to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. JMP Securities downgraded shares of Root from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased 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.

Insider Activity

In other Root news, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 50,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was 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 represents a 99.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Julie Szudarek sold 2,000 shares of Root stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 246,905 shares of company stock worth $20,440,479. 11.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Root during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Root by 129.1% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 5,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 2,889 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Root during the second quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Root in the third quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Root by 76.8% in the second 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. Institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

Root Price Performance

NASDAQ ROOT opened at $77.17 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. Root has a 12 month low of $7.22 and a 12 month high of $118.15. The stock has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -62.74 and a beta of 2.55. The company’s 50 day moving average is $83.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.10.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last released its 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 analysts’ expectations of $272.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($3.16) EPS. Root’s revenue for the quarter was up 165.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Root 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.