Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.50.

ROL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Rollins from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays started coverage on Rollins in a research report on Monday, November 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Rollins in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on Rollins in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock.

Insider Activity at Rollins

In related 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 value of $735,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 124,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,195,794.32. This represents a 10.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Rollins by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 9,397,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $465,503,000 after buying an additional 1,154,722 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Rollins in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,225,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Rollins in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,980,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Rollins by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,280,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $115,323,000 after acquiring an additional 420,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Rollins by 535.2% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 261,379 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,115,000 after acquiring an additional 220,230 shares in the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rollins Price Performance

NYSE ROL opened at $48.40 on Monday. Rollins has a 12 month low of $40.41 and a 12 month high of $52.16. The stock has a market cap of $23.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.42 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50 day moving average is $48.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

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

Rollins Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. This is an increase from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.75%.

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.