Short Interest in Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) Decreases By 18.0%

Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,960,000 shares, a decline of 18.0% from the August 31st total of 2,390,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 706,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rentokil Initial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RTO. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rentokil Initial by 345,196.7% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,560,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,560,289 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Rentokil Initial by 130.7% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,839,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,530,000 after buying an additional 1,041,860 shares during the period. Gates Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Gates Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,155,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,490,000 after buying an additional 528,409 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,025,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,949,000 after acquiring an additional 246,253 shares during the period. Finally, Nicholas Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rentokil Initial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,093,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.91% of the company’s stock.

Rentokil Initial Stock Down 2.0 %

Rentokil Initial stock traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $25.12. 102,534 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 696,853. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $29.61 and its 200 day moving average is $28.90. Rentokil Initial has a 52-week low of $23.39 and a 52-week high of $37.44.

Rentokil Initial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.2034 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a yield of 1.7%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on RTO shares. Redburn Atlantic cut Rentokil Initial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays upgraded shares of Rentokil Initial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group raised shares of Rentokil Initial from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Rentokil Initial from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rentokil Initial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.00.

Rentokil Initial Company Profile

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.