FORA Capital LLC Takes Position in Root, Inc. $ROOT

Key Points

• FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake of 4,180 shares in Root, Inc., valued at approximately $558,000, during the first quarter of the year.
• Root's revenue for the recent quarter was $382.90 million, reflecting a 32.4% increase year-over-year, and the company reported earnings per share of $1.29, exceeding estimates.
• Insider sales included notable transactions where Mahtiyar Bonakdarpour sold over 5,200 shares for approximately $686,000, representing a 1.83% decrease in their ownership.

FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $558,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Root by 765.2% in the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 105,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,108,000 after purchasing an additional 93,508 shares in the last quarter. Knollwood Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Root in the first quarter valued at $3,751,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Root by 66.3% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 679,696 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,699,000 after purchasing an additional 271,097 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Root by 0.6% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 75,646 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,094,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Root in the first quarter valued at $30,786,000. 59.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ROOT. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down from $140.00) on shares of Root in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered Root from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Root from $172.00 to $138.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Root from $51.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Root from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Root presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.83.

Root Trading Down 4.2%

ROOT traded down $3.89 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $88.34. 203,942 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 556,389. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60 and a beta of 2.24. Root, Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.04 and a 1 year high of $181.14.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.23. Root had a return on equity of 38.24% and a net margin of 6.02%.The company had revenue of $382.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $348.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.52) earnings per share. Root's revenue was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Root, Inc. will post -0.08 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Root news, Director Jerri Devard sold 1,895 shares of Root stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total value of $268,142.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,532 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,622,278. The trade was a 9.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Julie Szudarek sold 2,790 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.80, for a total transaction of $373,302.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,332 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,783,821.60. This represents a 17.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,537 shares of company stock valued at $1,035,962. 11.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Root Company Profile

Root, Inc provides insurance products and services in the United States. The company offers automobile, homeowners, and renters insurance products. It operates a direct-to-consumer model; and serves customers primarily through mobile applications, as well as through its website. The company's direct distribution channels also cover digital, media, and referral channels, as well as distribution partners and agencies.