Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $78.00 to $80.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on ROOT. JMP Securities downgraded shares of Root from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target (up from $82.00) on shares of Root in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Root from $84.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citizens Jmp cut shares of Root from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Root to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.38.

Root Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of ROOT opened at $88.33 on Tuesday. Root has a one year low of $7.22 and a one year high of $118.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $84.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -71.81 and a beta of 2.55.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Root

In other news, Director Julie Szudarek sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.33, for a total transaction of $192,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,445,238.99. This represents a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 75,839 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.21, for a total value of $6,158,885.19. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,500,719.47. This represents a 63.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 246,905 shares of company stock valued at $20,440,479. 11.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Root by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 20,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,497,000 after acquiring an additional 1,416 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in Root during the 3rd quarter valued at $249,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Root by 361.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 10,993 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Root in the third quarter worth $288,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Root during the third quarter valued at $645,000. 59.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Root Company Profile

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.