Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Buys 68,321 Shares of Root, Inc. $ROOT

Key Points

• Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. significantly increased its stake in Root, Inc. by 242.7% in Q1, owning a total of 96,471 shares, which represents 1.1% of its portfolio.
• Insider transactions included the sale of shares by key executives, with CEO Alexander E. Timm selling 8,290 shares, reducing his ownership by 4.69%.
• Root, Inc. reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.29 for the last quarter, exceeding the expected EPS of $1.06 and marking a 32.4% year-over-year revenue growth.

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT - Free Report) by 242.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,471 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 68,321 shares during the period. Root accounts for approximately 1.1% of Landscape Capital Management L.L.C.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. owned about 0.63% of Root worth $12,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Root by 66.3% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 679,696 shares of the company's stock worth $90,699,000 after purchasing an additional 271,097 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Root by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 529,555 shares of the company's stock worth $70,664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,627 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Root by 5,575.0% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 256,792 shares of the company's stock worth $34,266,000 after purchasing an additional 252,267 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Root in the 1st quarter worth $30,786,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Root by 765.2% in the 1st quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 105,728 shares of the company's stock worth $14,108,000 after purchasing an additional 93,508 shares during the last quarter. 59.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Root Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of Root stock traded down $3.60 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $88.63. The stock had a trading volume of 140,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 556,004. The company has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68 and a beta of 2.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $111.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $126.73. Root, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.04 and a 52 week high of $181.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $382.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $348.36 million. Root had a return on equity of 38.24% and a net margin of 6.02%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.52) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Root, Inc. will post -0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on ROOT shares. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 target price (down from $140.00) on shares of Root in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Root from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Root from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Root from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Root from $172.00 to $138.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jerri Devard sold 1,895 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total value of $268,142.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,532 shares in the company, valued at $2,622,278. The trade was a 9.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Beth A. Birnbaum sold 2,852 shares of Root stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.33, for a total value of $394,517.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 14,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,975,352.40. This represents a 16.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,537 shares of company stock worth $1,035,962 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.71% of the company's stock.

Root 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.