Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Receives Outperform Rating from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated their outperform rating on shares of Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) in a report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $80.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $70.00.

ROOT has been the topic of several other reports. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Root from $15.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a market outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Root from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Root from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Root from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and increased their target price for the company from $9.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Root in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a market perform rating for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Root currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $40.75.

Root Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROOT opened at $62.97 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market cap of $919.36 million, a PE ratio of -8.10 and a beta of 2.72. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.49. Root has a one year low of $4.29 and a one year high of $86.57.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.42) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.51) by $2.09. Root had a negative return on equity of 62.36% and a negative net margin of 17.61%. The business had revenue of $254.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($2.88) EPS. Root’s revenue was up 263.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Root will post -6.59 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 13,300 shares of Root stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.58, for a total transaction of $805,714.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,611,422.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 10.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Root

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Root in the first quarter valued at $431,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Root in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,171,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Root in the first quarter worth about $293,000. HST Ventures LLC grew its holdings in Root by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. HST Ventures LLC now owns 51,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $544,000 after acquiring an additional 9,317 shares during the period. Finally, Cannell Capital LLC raised its position in Root by 144.0% during the fourth quarter. Cannell Capital LLC now owns 717,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,515,000 after acquiring an additional 423,120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.