Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Stock Price Up 5.7% – Here’s Why

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)’s stock price rose 5.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $87.00 and last traded at $87.25. Approximately 121,285 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 321,143 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ROOT shares. JMP Securities cut Root from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. 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 research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Root from $84.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citizens Jmp cut Root from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Root from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.38.

Root Trading Down 0.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -79.27 and a beta of 2.55. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $83.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $305.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.77 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($3.16) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 165.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Root, Inc. will post -0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Root

In other news, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 75,839 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.21, for a total transaction of $6,158,885.19. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,500,719.47. The trade was a 63.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Julie Szudarek sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were 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 owns 15,003 shares in the company, valued at $1,445,238.99. This trade represents a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 195,946 shares of company stock worth $16,120,175 over the last three months. 11.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Root

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ROOT. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Root by 0.3% in the third 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. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Root in the third quarter worth $33,000. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in Root by 15.2% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 9,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Root by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 20,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,497,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Root by 129.1% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 5,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 2,889 shares in the last quarter. 59.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.