Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Sets New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $44.62 and last traded at $45.15, with a volume of 85942 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.98.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Root Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $697.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40 and a beta of 2.84. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.31.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $397.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $381.57 million. Root had a return on equity of 15.34% and a net margin of 2.58%.The company’s revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Root, Inc. will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ROOT. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Root by 122.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,365,000 after acquiring an additional 5,626 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Root by 4.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $686,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of Root during the second quarter worth $318,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Root during the second quarter worth $1,121,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Root by 183.5% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $797,000 after acquiring an additional 4,029 shares during the last quarter. 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.