Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Shares Up 9.2% – What’s Next?

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) traded up 9.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $50.34 and last traded at $50.5550. 163,936 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 329,694 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ROOT shares. Zacks Research upgraded Root from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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. Weiss Ratings raised Root from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Root from $90.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Root from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. 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 a consensus price target of $92.40.

Root Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $796.50 million, a P/E ratio of 22.06 and a beta of 2.90. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Root

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in Root during the third quarter valued at $50,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Root by 511.7% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Root during the 3rd quarter valued at about $144,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Root by 237.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank acquired a new stake in Root during the third quarter worth approximately $194,000. 59.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.