Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Stock Price Down 3.7% Following Analyst Downgrade

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) fell 3.7% on Friday after TD Cowen downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong sell rating. The stock traded as low as $55.26 and last traded at $55.26. Approximately 98,480 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 302,863 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.41.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Zacks Research upgraded Root from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Root from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Root from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Root from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Root from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Root

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Root by 780.1% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 220,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,949,000 after buying an additional 195,725 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Root by 372.1% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 228,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,474,000 after acquiring an additional 180,289 shares in the last quarter. Findell Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Root by 291.7% in the fourth 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. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Root by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 654,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,257,000 after acquiring an additional 157,654 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Root by 132.5% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 170,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,313,000 after acquiring an additional 97,149 shares during the period. 59.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Root Trading Down 2.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.17. The company has a market capitalization of $864.19 million, a P/E ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 2.89.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.66. Root had a net margin of 3.78% and a return on equity of 19.72%. The business had revenue of $389.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.29 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Root, Inc. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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.