Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) Short Interest Update

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,140,000 shares, a decrease of 23.5% from the October 31st total of 1,490,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 627,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Insider Transactions at Root

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Root

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD purchased a new position in Root during the first quarter worth about $434,000. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Root during the 1st quarter worth $1,997,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Root in the second quarter valued at about $1,280,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Root by 2,355.5% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 11,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $598,000 after buying an additional 11,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in Root by 76.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 5,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 2,576 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Root from $64.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Root from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Citizens Jmp downgraded Root from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JMP Securities downgraded shares of Root from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Root from $84.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Root presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.13.

Root Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROOT opened at $99.06 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’s 50 day moving average price is $58.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.84. Root has a fifty-two week low of $7.22 and a fifty-two week high of $118.15.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $305.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $272.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($3.16) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 165.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Root will post -1.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Root

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.