X Square Capital LLC Takes Position in Root, Inc. $ROOT

X Square Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 77,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,569,000. Root makes up approximately 1.8% of X Square Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. X Square Capital LLC owned 0.50% of Root at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Root by 25.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 724,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,854,000 after purchasing an additional 149,064 shares during the last quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Root during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,580,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Root by 1,254.2% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,178,000 after buying an additional 27,932 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Root during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,286,000. Finally, Prosperitas Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Root in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,594,000. 59.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ROOT. Wall Street Zen raised Root from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Root in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group set a $50.00 target price on Root and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Root from $104.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.20.

Root Stock Up 2.6%

Root stock opened at $54.92 on Tuesday. Root, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.91 and a 52 week high of $162.99. The stock has a market cap of $869.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 2.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $52.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $1.25. Root had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 19.97%. The business had revenue of $393.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $398.16 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.07 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Root, Inc. will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.