Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Stock Price Target Lowered at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Root’s price target from $75 to $70 but maintained an “outperform” rating, implying 48.87% potential upside from the prior close.
• Root shares fell 17.7% on Thursday to $47.02. Analysts overall remain cautious: the consensus rating is “Hold,” with a $57.75 average price target.
• Root reported quarterly EPS of $0.86, beating estimates of $0.63, while revenue of $381.3 million came in slightly below expectations.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $75.00 to $70.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods's target price points to a potential upside of 48.87% from the stock's previous close.

ROOT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen cut shares of Root from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Root in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of 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 research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Root from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $57.75.

Root Trading Down 17.7%

Shares of Root stock traded down $10.13 on Thursday, reaching $47.02. The company had a trading volume of 313,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 273,794. The firm has a market cap of $728.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.22 and a beta of 3.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $51.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.15. Root has a 1 year low of $40.91 and a 1 year high of $91.00.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $381.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $384.43 million. Root had a return on equity of 19.72% and a net margin of 3.78%. As a group, research analysts predict that Root will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Root

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ROOT. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Root by 49.1% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 68,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,006,000 after buying an additional 22,422 shares in the last quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC boosted its position in Root by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC now owns 27,411 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,533,000 after buying an additional 1,149 shares during the period. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC bought a new position in Root in the 1st quarter worth about $1,193,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Root during the first quarter worth approximately $920,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Root during the third quarter worth approximately $289,000. 59.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Root

Root, Inc NASDAQ: ROOT is an insurance technology company that uses mobile technology and data-driven underwriting to provide personal insurance products. The company is best known for its automobile insurance, which is offered through a digital platform designed to allow customers to obtain quotes, purchase coverage and manage policies through a smartphone.

Root's auto insurance model uses information collected through its mobile application, including driving-related data, to evaluate individual driving behavior and help determine eligibility and pricing.

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