Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Shares Down 1.9% – What’s Next?

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)’s stock price traded down 1.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $48.17 and last traded at $49.84. Approximately 400,234 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 144% from the average daily volume of 163,701 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ROOT shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Root from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $58.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings raised Root from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Zacks Research upgraded Root from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Root from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered Root from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.25.

Root Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $772.02 million, a P/E ratio of 14.08 and a beta of 2.92. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $55.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $389.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $395.14 million. Root had a net margin of 3.78% and a return on equity of 19.72%. Root’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Root, Inc. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Root

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Root in the second quarter valued at $219,000. Prosperitas Financial LLC grew its holdings in Root by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC now owns 27,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,533,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Root during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Root in the 1st quarter worth about $920,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Root by 49.1% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 68,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,006,000 after acquiring an additional 22,422 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

Root Company Profile

Root, Inc is a technology-driven insurance company that primarily provides personal automobile insurance in the United States. The company uses a mobile application, data analytics and telematics to evaluate driving behavior and help determine individualized insurance pricing. Customers can use the app to obtain quotes, manage policies, access identification cards and file claims.

Root’s insurance products are designed around a digital, direct-to-consumer model intended to simplify the purchase and management of coverage.