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

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) had its target price raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $78.00 to $80.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential downside of 7.97% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. 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. Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of Root from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JMP Securities downgraded shares of Root from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Root in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Root to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.38.

Root Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROOT traded up $5.14 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $86.93. 153,241 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 295,693. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -70.67 and a beta of 2.55. Root has a 52 week low of $7.22 and a 52 week high of $118.15. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $83.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.61) by $1.96. The business had revenue of $305.70 million during 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%. The company’s revenue was up 165.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($3.16) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Root will post -1.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Julie Szudarek sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.33, for a total value of $192,660.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,445,238.99. This trade represents a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 75,839 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.21, for a total transaction of $6,158,885.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,107 shares in the company, valued at $3,500,719.47. This represents a 63.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days. Company insiders own 11.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Root

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Root during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Root by 129.1% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 5,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,000 after purchasing an additional 2,889 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Root during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in Root in the 3rd quarter worth $249,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in Root in the 2nd quarter worth $288,000. 59.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.