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

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $55.33 and last traded at $55.0710, with a volume of 117844 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ROOT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Root in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Root in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $75.00 price objective on Root and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Root from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Root from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Root currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.60.

Root Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $947.51 million, a PE ratio of 18.46 and a beta of 2.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $67.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.29.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.28. Root had a net margin of 3.80% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The company had revenue of $397.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $381.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. Root’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Root, Inc. will post -0.08 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Root

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ROOT. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Root by 122.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,365,000 after buying an additional 5,626 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Root by 4.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Root in the second quarter valued at approximately $777,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in Root in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $318,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Root during the 2nd quarter valued at $422,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.