JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Position in Root, Inc. $ROOT

Key Points

• JPMorgan cut its stake in Root by 79.4% in Q3, selling 22,952 shares and ending the quarter with 5,953 shares worth about $533,000.
• Bank of America moved the other way, boosting its position by 185.2% to 93,290 shares (≈$8.35M), and institutional investors now hold roughly 59.8% of Root's stock.
• Root beat quarterly expectations with $0.31 EPS (vs. $0.03 est.) and $397M revenue (up 21.5% YoY), but analysts remain cautious—consensus rating is "Hold," some price targets were cut to $52, and the street expects -$0.08 EPS for the fiscal year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lessened its stake in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT - Free Report) by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,953 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,952 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s holdings in Root were worth $533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Root in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $144,000. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Root in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,742,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Root in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $351,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. purchased a new stake in Root in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $218,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Root by 185.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 93,290 shares of the company's stock worth $8,350,000 after purchasing an additional 60,579 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.82% of the company's stock.

Root Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of ROOT stock opened at $45.58 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $709.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65 and a beta of 2.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.23. Root, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.91 and a 1-year high of $162.99.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. Root had a return on equity of 15.34% and a net margin of 2.58%.The business had revenue of $397.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $381.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Root, Inc. will post -0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ROOT shares. Weiss Ratings raised Root from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Root from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Zacks Research raised Root from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Root from $90.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Root from $70.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $92.40.

Root 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.

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