Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) Short Interest Down 22.1% in December

Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) saw a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,960,000 shares, a decline of 22.1% from the December 15th total of 3,800,000 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 755,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Rentokil Initial Stock Performance

Rentokil Initial stock opened at $23.30 on Wednesday. Rentokil Initial has a fifty-two week low of $22.40 and a fifty-two week high of $34.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $11.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.23 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $25.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.28.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rentokil Initial

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in Rentokil Initial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial by 403.3% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rentokil Initial during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Rentokil Initial in the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in Rentokil Initial by 200.8% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 2,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 9.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RTO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup raised Rentokil Initial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Rentokil Initial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rentokil Initial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.00.

About Rentokil Initial

Rentokil Initial plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides route-based services in North America, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and internationally. It offers a range of pest control services for rodents, and flying and crawling insects, as well as other forms of wildlife management for commercial customers.