Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) Short Interest Down 16.2% in February

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in 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 daily trading volume, of 492,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 10.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROOT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Root in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Root from $67.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of Root from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JMP Securities cut shares of Root from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “buy” rating on shares of Root in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. Five research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Root presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.33.

Institutional Trading of Root

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROOT. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Root in the third quarter worth approximately $539,000. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in shares of Root by 120.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 14,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 8,092 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Root by 966.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 16,348 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in Root by 129.1% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 5,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 2,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in Root by 15.2% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 9,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares during the last quarter. 59.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Root Stock Performance

Root stock traded down $2.56 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $149.79. 283,993 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 511,753. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $108.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.60. Root has a fifty-two week low of $34.04 and a fifty-two week high of $154.52. The firm has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -121.44 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.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $326.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $287.79 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Root will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current 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.