Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on ROOT. Wells Fargo & Company set a $75.00 price target on Root and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Root in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Root in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Root from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.60.

Root Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROOT opened at $70.17 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $77.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20 and a beta of 2.70. Root has a 12 month low of $68.08 and a 12 month high of $181.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.08. Root had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 3.80%.The firm had revenue of $387.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.06 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Root will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Root

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in shares of Root in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Root by 511.7% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in Root by 28.5% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Root in the third quarter valued at $144,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Root by 237.2% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 899 shares during the last quarter. 59.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Root

Root, trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker ROOT, is a Columbus, Ohio–based insurance company that leverages mobile technology and data analytics to offer personalized auto insurance policies. Founded in 2015 by Alex Timm and Dan Manges, Root set out to transform traditional underwriting by focusing on individual driving behavior rather than broad demographic factors.

The company’s core product is usage-based auto insurance, delivered through a smartphone app that monitors driving patterns such as speed, braking and phone usage behind the wheel.