Wesbanco Bank Inc. Takes $218,000 Position in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Root during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Root by 129.1% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 5,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 2,889 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Root during the third quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in Root during the third quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in Root during the second quarter valued at approximately $288,000. 59.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROOT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Root from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Root to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Root in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JMP Securities cut shares of Root from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a 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 assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.38.

Root Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of Root stock opened at $83.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $84.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.29. Root, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.22 and a 1 year high of $118.15. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of -67.74 and a beta of 2.55.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.61) by $1.96. Root had a negative net margin of 1.56% and a negative return on equity of 9.81%. The firm had revenue of $305.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $272.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($3.16) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 165.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Root, Inc. will post -1.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Julie Szudarek sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.33, for a total transaction of $192,660.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,445,238.99. This trade represents a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 75,839 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 43,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,500,719.47. This represents a 63.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 246,905 shares of company stock valued at $20,440,479 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.71% of the company’s stock.

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.