Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Price Target Lowered to $52.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) had its price target lowered by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $70.00 to $52.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 14.29% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Root from $104.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Root from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings raised Root from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Root from $90.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Root from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.40.

Root Stock Performance

ROOT traded down $0.94 during trading on Thursday, reaching $45.50. 15,896 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 325,288. Root has a 52 week low of $40.91 and a 52 week high of $162.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $51.82 and a 200 day moving average of $69.50. The stock has a market cap of $707.98 million, a P/E ratio of 19.54 and a beta of 2.90.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $397.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $381.57 million. Root had a return on equity of 15.34% and a net margin of 2.58%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Root will post -0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Root

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in shares of Root in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased 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 valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Root during the third quarter worth approximately $144,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Root by 237.2% during the second 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. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank acquired a new stake in Root in the third quarter worth approximately $194,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

Root Company Profile

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.