Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Downgraded by Citizens Jmp to Hold

Citizens Jmp cut shares of Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities cut Root from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Root from $84.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Root from $64.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Root to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target (up from $82.00) on shares of Root in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.13.

Root Price Performance

Shares of Root stock opened at $109.23 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $54.94 and a 200 day moving average of $54.11. Root has a 52 week low of $7.22 and a 52 week high of $118.15. The company has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of -88.80 and a beta of 2.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.61) by $1.96. Root had a negative net margin of 1.56% and a negative return on equity of 9.81%. The business had revenue of $305.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($3.16) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 165.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Root will post -1.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Root

In related news, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 75,839 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.21, for a total transaction of $6,158,885.19. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,107 shares in the company, valued at $3,500,719.47. This represents a 63.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Julie Szudarek sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.33, for a total transaction of $192,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,445,238.99. This trade represents a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 246,905 shares of company stock worth $20,440,479. Corporate insiders own 11.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD purchased a new stake in Root during the first quarter valued at approximately $434,000. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Root during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,997,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Root during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,280,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Root by 2,355.5% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 11,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $598,000 after buying an additional 11,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in Root by 76.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 5,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 2,576 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

About Root

Root, Inc provides insurance products and services in the United States. The company offers automobile, homeowners, and renters insurance products. It operates a direct-to-consumer model; and serves customers primarily through mobile applications, as well as through its website. The company's direct distribution channels also cover digital, media, and referral channels, as well as distribution partners and agencies.