Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Root (NASDAQ:ROOT - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on ROOT. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Root from $115.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Root from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Root from $142.00 to $118.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Root from $51.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Root has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $130.50.

Root Stock Down 4.8%

Root stock traded down $5.89 on Friday, hitting $115.76. 315,790 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 519,823. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.18 and a beta of 2.26. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $135.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.33. Root has a 1 year low of $34.04 and a 1 year high of $181.14.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.62. The business had revenue of $349.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $305.24 million. Root had a return on equity of 27.33% and a net margin of 4.11%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 37.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.42) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Root will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Alexander E. Timm sold 8,290 shares of Root stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.60, for a total value of $1,082,674.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 168,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,020,335.40. This trade represents a 4.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Beth A. Birnbaum sold 2,852 shares of Root stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.33, for a total value of $394,517.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,975,352.40. The trade was a 16.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 246,083 shares of company stock worth $33,362,319 in the last three months. 11.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ROOT. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Root by 651.8% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 421 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new position in Root in the first quarter worth about $37,000. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in shares of Root during the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Root during the 4th quarter valued at about $94,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Root by 92.1% during the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. 59.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Root

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.