Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Trading Up 5.9% Following Analyst Upgrade

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) shot up 5.9% during mid-day trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $97.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Root traded as high as $129.76 and last traded at $131.28. 83,430 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 460,568 shares. The stock had previously closed at $123.95.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Root from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Citizens Jmp lowered Root from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JMP Securities cut Root from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Root in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Root has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Root

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Root by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Root by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 5,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Root by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Root by 651.8% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 purchasing an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

Root Stock Up 8.7 %

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 company has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of -107.23 and a beta of 2.58. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.57.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.63) by $1.93. The firm had revenue of $326.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $287.79 million. Root had a negative net margin of 1.56% and a negative return on equity of 9.81%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Root, Inc. will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.