Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 149,064 Shares of Root, Inc. $ROOT

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) by 25.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 724,541 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 149,064 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings in Root were worth $64,854,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Root by 122.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 5,626 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Root by 4.7% in the first 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 during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Root during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $318,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Root by 37.7% during the 2nd quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 14,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,890,000 after buying an additional 4,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Root in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,121,000. 59.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Root Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ ROOT opened at $47.98 on Friday. Root, Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.42 and a 12 month high of $181.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $744.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.68 and a beta of 2.84. The business has a 50-day moving average of $64.22 and a 200-day moving average of $77.44.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $397.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $381.57 million. Root had a net margin of 2.58% and a return on equity of 15.34%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. Root’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Root, Inc. will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Root from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Root from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Root from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Root from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price objective (down from $150.00) on shares of Root in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.40.

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.