JMP Securities Downgrades Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) to Market Perform

JMP Securities cut shares of Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

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

Root Trading Down 0.7 %

ROOT opened at $108.44 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $56.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.26. The firm has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of -88.16 and a beta of 2.34. Root has a twelve month low of $7.22 and a twelve month high of $118.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business 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 business posted ($3.16) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 165.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Root will post -1.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Root

In other Root news, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 50,959 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,647.56. This represents a 99.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julie Szudarek sold 2,000 shares of Root stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.33, for a total transaction of $192,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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. Insiders own 11.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Root

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

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.