Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Trading Up 8.8% on Analyst Upgrade

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)’s share price was up 8.8% on Monday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $115.00 to $150.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Root traded as high as $131.96 and last traded at $130.50. Approximately 179,415 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 519,770 shares. The stock had previously closed at $120.00.

ROOT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Root in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Root from $67.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Root from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Root currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Doug Ulman sold 2,000 shares of Root stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $350,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,085,175. This trade represents a 24.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alexander E. Timm sold 1,144 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.01, for a total transaction of $153,307.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 161,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,659,366.25. This trade represents a 0.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,659 shares of company stock worth $1,191,469. Corporate insiders own 11.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Root

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Root by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Root by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 5,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $391,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Root by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Root by 651.8% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Root by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 176,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,683,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. 59.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Root Stock Up 7.7 %

The business’s 50-day moving average is $128.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -105.07 and a beta of 2.41. 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 (NASDAQ:ROOT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.63) by $1.93. The company had revenue of $326.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $287.79 million. Root had a negative return on equity of 9.81% and a negative net margin of 1.56%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Root, Inc. will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

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.