Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen raised Root from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. UBS Group set a $50.00 price target on Root and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. 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 report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Root from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Root in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Root currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.20.

Root Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROOT opened at $53.85 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $52.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.81. Root has a 52 week low of $40.91 and a 52 week high of $162.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $852.45 million, a P/E ratio of 16.12 and a beta of 2.87. 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 (NASDAQ:ROOT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $1.25. The business had revenue of $393.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $398.16 million. Root had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 19.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.07 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Root will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Root

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Root by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 946,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,376,000 after acquiring an additional 74,427 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Root by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 724,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,854,000 after acquiring an additional 149,064 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Root by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 654,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,257,000 after acquiring an additional 157,654 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Root by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 310,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,466,000 after acquiring an additional 12,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Root by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 258,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,647,000 after acquiring an additional 12,321 shares in the last quarter. 59.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.