Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Sunday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on ROOT. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Root from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Root in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Root and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Root in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Root has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.60.

Root Stock Down 2.5%

NASDAQ:ROOT opened at $68.41 on Friday. Root has a twelve month low of $68.08 and a twelve month high of $181.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67 and a beta of 2.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $76.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.45.

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 business had revenue of $387.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share. Root’s quarterly revenue was up 26.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Root will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Root

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in shares of Root during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Root by 511.7% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 734 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in Root by 28.5% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Root in the 3rd quarter valued at $144,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. 59.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.