Raymond James & Associates Sells 85,603 Shares of Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)

Raymond James & Associates lessened its holdings in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) by 61.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,716 shares of the company’s stock after selling 85,603 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.36% of Root worth $552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ROOT. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Root by 218,250.0% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 4,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 4,365 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Root by 229,380.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 11,469 shares in the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. bought a new position in Root in the 3rd quarter worth $120,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Root during the third quarter valued at $158,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Root by 148.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 24,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 14,913 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on ROOT shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Root from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Root in a report on Monday, April 15th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Root in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price (up previously from $22.00) on shares of Root in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Root from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, March 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.88.

Root Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROOT opened at $62.66 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $914.84 million, a P/E ratio of -6.13 and a beta of 2.86. Root, Inc. has a 52-week low of $3.76 and a 52-week high of $85.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $48.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.31.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported ($1.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.49) by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $194.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $108.00 million. Root had a negative net margin of 32.40% and a negative return on equity of 73.62%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Root, Inc. will post -7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.