Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $59.73 and last traded at $59.43, with a volume of 97991 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $61.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ROOT shares. Zacks Research raised Root from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $75.00 price target on Root and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Root in a report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Root in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Root from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.60.

Root Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $949.37 million, a PE ratio of 18.49 and a beta of 2.76. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $74.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.46.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.35) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.08. Root had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 3.80%.The firm had revenue of $387.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.06 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Root, Inc. will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Root

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ROOT. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Root during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,829,000. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Root by 372.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 228,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,474,000 after buying an additional 180,289 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Root by 25.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 724,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,854,000 after purchasing an additional 149,064 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Root by 54.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 357,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,708,000 after buying an additional 126,467 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Root during the 2nd quarter worth about $11,079,000. Institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

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.