Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Price Target Raised to $80.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $78.00 to $80.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential downside of 6.74% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Root to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Root in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citizens Jmp downgraded Root from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Root from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Root from $84.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.38.

Root Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:ROOT opened at $85.78 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -69.74 and a beta of 2.55. Root has a twelve month low of $7.22 and a twelve month high of $118.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $84.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.61) by $1.96. Root had a negative net margin of 1.56% and a negative return on equity of 9.81%. The business had revenue of $305.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $272.77 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($3.16) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 165.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Root will post -1.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Root

In other Root news, Director Julie Szudarek sold 2,000 shares of Root stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.33, for a total value of $192,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,003 shares in the company, valued at $1,445,238.99. The trade was a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 118,107 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.71, for a total transaction of $9,768,629.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 246,905 shares of company stock valued at $20,440,479. Corporate insiders own 11.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hood River Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Root during the 2nd quarter valued at $9,547,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Root during the second quarter valued at about $9,154,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Root by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 176,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,683,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Root in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,280,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Root by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 20,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,497,000 after buying an additional 1,416 shares during the last quarter. 59.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.