Root’s (ROOT) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $70.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $22.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 17.15% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on ROOT. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Root from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $9.00 to $13.00 in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Root from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Root in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Root from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on Root in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.88.

Root Price Performance

Shares of ROOT traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $59.75. The company had a trading volume of 277,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 649,266. The company’s 50-day moving average is $46.85 and its 200-day moving average is $22.78. Root has a twelve month low of $3.63 and a twelve month high of $85.99. The company has a market capitalization of $872.35 million, a P/E ratio of -5.83 and a beta of 2.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported ($1.64) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.49) by $0.85. Root had a negative return on equity of 73.62% and a negative net margin of 32.40%. The firm had revenue of $194.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $108.00 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Root will post -7.87 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cannell Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Root by 144.0% during the fourth quarter. Cannell Capital LLC now owns 717,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,515,000 after acquiring an additional 423,120 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates acquired a new position in Root in the third quarter valued at about $1,315,000. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Root in the third quarter valued at about $309,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Root in the fourth quarter valued at about $234,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Root in the third quarter valued at about $158,000. 59.82% of the stock is currently 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.