Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company.

Several research analysts have weighed in on RTO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a report on Friday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Rentokil Initial from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th.

Rentokil Initial Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of RTO opened at $23.67 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.29. 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 company has a market capitalization of $11.95 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 0.96. Rentokil Initial has a fifty-two week low of $19.60 and a fifty-two week high of $34.07.

Rentokil Initial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a dividend of $0.3825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.4%. Rentokil Initial’s payout ratio is 45.03%.

Institutional Trading of Rentokil Initial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Keystone Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Rentokil Initial during the 4th quarter worth $236,000. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rentokil Initial by 28.1% during the 4th quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC now owns 160,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,051,000 after buying an additional 35,100 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR increased its holdings in shares of Rentokil Initial by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 431,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,918,000 after buying an additional 24,699 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rentokil Initial during the 4th quarter worth $257,000. Finally, Pacifica Capital Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rentokil Initial during the 4th quarter worth $4,894,000. 9.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.