Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Stock

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) had its target price lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $78.00 to $80.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Root to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Root from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Root from $84.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. JMP Securities downgraded shares of Root from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut shares of Root from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Six investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.38.

Root Stock Up 3.7 %

Root stock opened at $84.81 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. Root has a one year low of $7.22 and a one year high of $118.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -68.95 and a beta of 2.55.

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

Insider Transactions at Root

In other news, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 75,839 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.21, for a total transaction of $6,158,885.19. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,500,719.47. The trade was a 63.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,003 shares in the company, valued at $1,445,238.99. This represents a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 246,905 shares of company stock valued at $20,440,479 in the last quarter. Insiders own 11.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Root

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Root by 966.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $682,000 after buying an additional 16,348 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Root by 361.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,000 after acquiring an additional 10,993 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Root in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $216,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Root by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 20,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,497,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Root during the 3rd quarter valued at $428,000. 59.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.