Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Price Target Raised to $61.00

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) had its price objective hoisted by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $58.00 to $61.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential downside of 5.79% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on ROOT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Root from $104.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. UBS Group set a $50.00 price target on shares of Root and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Root from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Root from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Root in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Root has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Root Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of ROOT stock traded down $1.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $64.75. 100,151 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 312,026. Root has a 52-week low of $40.91 and a 52-week high of $134.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.24 and a beta of 2.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $55.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.41.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $1.25. Root had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 19.97%. The firm had revenue of $393.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $398.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.07 EPS. Root’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Root will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Root

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Root by 122.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,365,000 after buying an additional 5,626 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Root by 4.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Root by 389.3% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 28,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,699,000 after purchasing an additional 22,997 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Root by 511.7% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 734 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Root by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

Root Company Profile

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.