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 issued on Friday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Root from $84.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on Root from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective (up 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 report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Root from $64.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Root presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.13.

Root Stock Down 0.2 %

ROOT stock opened at $109.23 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -88.80 and a beta of 2.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The business’s 50-day moving average is $54.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.99. Root has a fifty-two week low of $7.22 and a fifty-two week high of $118.15.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $272.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($3.16) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 165.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Root will post -1.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 50,959 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,647.56. This represents a 99.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Julie Szudarek sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 15,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,445,238.99. This 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 valued at $20,440,479. Corporate insiders own 11.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Root by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 176,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,683,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC raised its position in Root by 5.5% during the second quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 9,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Root in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Root by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 9,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased 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 valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 2,576 shares during the last quarter. 59.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.