Rollins (NYSE:ROL) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Rollins (NYSE:ROL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday.

ROL has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Rollins from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays started coverage on Rollins in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on Rollins in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.83.

Rollins Stock Performance

Shares of ROL opened at $46.11 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.03 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.78. Rollins has a 52-week low of $40.41 and a 52-week high of $52.16.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $916.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $911.15 million. Rollins had a return on equity of 38.67% and a net margin of 14.18%. Rollins’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Rollins will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This is an increase from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio is 68.75%.

Insider Activity

In other Rollins news, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $735,730.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 124,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,195,794.32. This trade represents a 10.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rollins

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROL. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Rollins by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 4,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of Rollins by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 3,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of Rollins by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in shares of Rollins by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 13,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $672,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Rollins by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 10,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $509,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

About Rollins

Rollins, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides pest and wildlife control services to residential and commercial customers in the United States and internationally. The company offers pest control services to residential properties protecting from common pests, including rodents, insects, and wildlife.