Short Interest in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) Declines By 16.2%

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,400,000 shares, a drop of 16.2% from the February 13th total of 1,670,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 492,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 10.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Root Stock Up 2.3 %

ROOT opened at $154.24 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.88. Root has a 12 month low of $34.04 and a 12 month high of $158.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -125.40 and a beta of 2.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.63) by $1.93. Root had a negative return on equity of 9.81% and a negative net margin of 1.56%. The company had revenue of $326.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $287.79 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Root will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Root

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Root by 966.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $682,000 after buying an additional 16,348 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Root by 361.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $529,000 after acquiring an additional 10,993 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Root by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 20,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,497,000 after acquiring an additional 1,416 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Root in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Root during the third quarter worth $428,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ROOT. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Root in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Root from $67.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JMP Securities downgraded Root from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Citizens Jmp cut Root from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Root in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Root currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.33.

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.