Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Stock Price Up 3.9% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) rose 3.9% on Friday . The company traded as high as $158.00 and last traded at $158.63. Approximately 251,271 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 502,328 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROOT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Root in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. JMP Securities downgraded Root from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Root in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Root from $67.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citizens Jmp downgraded Root from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.33.

Root Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -131.73 and a beta of 2.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The company has a 50-day moving average of $112.61 and a 200-day moving average of $80.38.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ROOT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Root by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 526,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,250,000 after acquiring an additional 73,413 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Root in the 4th quarter worth about $29,661,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Root by 41.8% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 263,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,129,000 after acquiring an additional 77,699 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Root by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 176,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,683,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Root by 163.2% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 127,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,286,000 after acquiring an additional 79,317 shares in the last quarter. 59.82% of the stock is owned by 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.