Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Shares Down 4.6% – Time to Sell?

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)’s stock price was down 4.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $55.12 and last traded at $54.5560. Approximately 64,144 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 313,152 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ROOT. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Root from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group set a $50.00 price target on shares of Root and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Root from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings cut Root from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Root from $104.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Root presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.20.

Root Trading Down 11.9%

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $53.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $797.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.09 and a beta of 2.87.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $1.25. Root had a return on equity of 19.97% and a net margin of 3.58%.The business had revenue of $393.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $398.16 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.07 EPS. Root’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Root, Inc. will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Root

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Root by 511.7% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 734 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Root by 237.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Root in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $144,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Root in the second quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Root by 67.5% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 816 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

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.