Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,400,000 shares, a decrease of 16.2% from the February 13th total of 1,670,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 492,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 10.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Root Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:ROOT traded down $0.93 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $149.87. The company had a trading volume of 180,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 509,218. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. Root has a fifty-two week low of $34.04 and a fifty-two week high of $154.52. The firm has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -121.57 and a beta of 2.48. The business’s fifty day moving average is $109.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.35.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.63) by $1.93. The business had revenue of $326.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $287.79 million. Root had a negative net margin of 1.56% and a negative return on equity of 9.81%. As a group, research analysts expect that Root will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Root

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROOT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Root by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 526,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,250,000 after buying an additional 73,413 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Root during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,661,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Root by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 263,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,129,000 after buying an additional 77,699 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Root by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 176,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,683,000 after buying an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Root by 163.2% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 127,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,286,000 after buying an additional 79,317 shares during the last quarter. 59.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. JMP Securities cut Root from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Root in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Root from $67.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Citizens Jmp cut Root from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Root in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Root currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.33.

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.