Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $67.15 and last traded at $67.3770, with a volume of 80508 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.41.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Root Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $76.60 and its 200-day moving average is $89.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52 and a beta of 2.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Root

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROOT. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC grew its position in Root by 3.0% in the second quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC now owns 6,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $797,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Root by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in Root by 28.5% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Root by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Root by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 22,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,858,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.