Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Reaffirms Outperform Rating for Root (NASDAQ:ROOT)

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $70.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $22.00.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Root from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and upped their target price for the stock from $9.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Root from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a market outperform rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Root in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Root in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a market perform rating on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $21.88.

Root Price Performance

Root stock opened at $64.40 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.69. Root has a 1 year low of $3.90 and a 1 year high of $85.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported ($1.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.49) by $0.85. The business had revenue of $194.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $108.00 million. Root had a negative net margin of 32.40% and a negative return on equity of 73.62%. Equities research analysts forecast that Root will post -7.87 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Root by 218,250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 4,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 4,365 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Root by 229,380.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 11,469 shares in the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Root in the 3rd quarter valued at $120,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Root in the 3rd quarter valued at $158,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Root in the 4th quarter valued at $234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

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.