Citizens Jmp Downgrades Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) to Hold

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) was downgraded by stock analysts at Citizens Jmp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

ROOT has been the topic of several other research reports. JMP Securities cut Root from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Root from $64.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Root from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Root from $84.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Root in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Root has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.13.

Root Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROOT opened at $109.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of -88.80 and a beta of 2.34. Root has a 12 month low of $7.22 and a 12 month high of $118.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $54.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.05.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.61) by $1.96. Root had a negative return on equity of 9.81% and a negative net margin of 1.56%. The business had revenue of $305.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.77 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($3.16) EPS. Root’s revenue was up 165.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Root will post -1.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Root news, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 75,839 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.21, for a total value of $6,158,885.19. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,500,719.47. This represents a 63.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Julie Szudarek sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.33, for a total value of $192,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,445,238.99. The trade was a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 246,905 shares of company stock valued at $20,440,479 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Root

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hood River Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Root in the second quarter valued at about $9,547,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Root during the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,154,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Root by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 176,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,683,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Root during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,997,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Root in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,280,000. Institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

Root Company Profile

Root, Inc provides insurance products and services in the United States. The company offers automobile, homeowners, and renters insurance products. It operates a direct-to-consumer model; and serves customers primarily through mobile applications, as well as through its website. The company's direct distribution channels also cover digital, media, and referral channels, as well as distribution partners and agencies.