Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Stock Price Up 4.6% – Here’s Why

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)’s stock price shot up 4.6% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $52.00 and last traded at $51.98. Approximately 32,061 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 302,769 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ROOT. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Root from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Root in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Root from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Root from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $58.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Root from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Root presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.25.

Root Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $874.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95 and a beta of 2.89. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $389.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.14 million. Root had a net margin of 3.78% and a return on equity of 19.72%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.29 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Root, Inc. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Root

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Root by 511.7% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Root in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Root by 237.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 899 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Root in the third quarter valued at $144,000. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Root in the second quarter valued at $213,000. 59.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Root

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.