Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Hits New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $48.25 and last traded at $49.6750, with a volume of 102243 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $51.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROOT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Root from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Root from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price objective (down from $150.00) on shares of Root in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised Root from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Root from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $108.40.

Root Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.72. The stock has a market cap of $761.57 million, a PE ratio of 21.19 and a beta of 2.84.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $397.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $381.57 million. Root had a net margin of 2.58% and a return on equity of 15.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Root, Inc. will post -0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Root

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ROOT. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Root by 950.0% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 36,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,289,000 after buying an additional 33,250 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in shares of Root by 754.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 20,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,628,000 after purchasing an additional 18,134 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new position in Root during the 2nd quarter worth $1,497,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Root in the second quarter valued at $33,829,000. Finally, Proem Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Root during the third quarter valued at $3,279,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

About Root

Root, trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker ROOT, is a Columbus, Ohio–based insurance company that leverages mobile technology and data analytics to offer personalized auto insurance policies. Founded in 2015 by Alex Timm and Dan Manges, Root set out to transform traditional underwriting by focusing on individual driving behavior rather than broad demographic factors.

The company’s core product is usage-based auto insurance, delivered through a smartphone app that monitors driving patterns such as speed, braking and phone usage behind the wheel.