Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Price Target to $80.00

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) had its target price lowered by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $95.00 to $80.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price points to a potential upside of 68.47% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Root in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Zacks Research raised Root from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Root from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Root from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, UBS Group set a $50.00 price target on shares of Root and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.25.

Root Stock Down 21.2%

NASDAQ:ROOT opened at $47.48 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $751.50 million, a PE ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 2.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $57.11 and a 200-day moving average of $55.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Root has a 52 week low of $40.91 and a 52 week high of $119.50.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $1.25. Root had a return on equity of 19.97% and a net margin of 3.58%.The company had revenue of $393.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $398.16 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Root will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Root

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Root by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 946,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,376,000 after buying an additional 74,427 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Root by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 654,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,257,000 after buying an additional 157,654 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Root by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 310,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,466,000 after acquiring an additional 12,238 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Root by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 258,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,647,000 after acquiring an additional 12,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Findell Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Root by 291.7% in the 4th quarter. Findell Capital Management LLC now owns 235,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,974,000 after acquiring an additional 175,000 shares in the last quarter. 59.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.