Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Cantor Fitzgerald

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) was upgraded by stock analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Thursday, Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Root from $71.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Root from $11.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (down from $88.00) on shares of Root in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Root currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.38.

Root Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of Root stock opened at $39.88 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $44.98 and its 200 day moving average is $54.30. Root has a one year low of $7.22 and a one year high of $86.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market cap of $594.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.13 and a beta of 2.53.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.52) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.74) by $1.22. Root had a negative return on equity of 50.80% and a negative net margin of 9.81%. The business had revenue of $289.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $264.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($2.55) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 286.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Root will post -2.13 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Root

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ROOT. Cannell Capital LLC grew its holdings in Root by 144.0% during the fourth quarter. Cannell Capital LLC now owns 717,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,515,000 after purchasing an additional 423,120 shares during the period. Hood River Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Root during the second quarter valued at $9,547,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Root in the second quarter worth $9,154,000. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Root in the first quarter worth $1,997,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Root in the second quarter worth $1,280,000. 59.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.