Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) Upgraded to “Buy” at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on RTO. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Rentokil Initial from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised Rentokil Initial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Rentokil Initial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised Rentokil Initial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $34.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rentokil Initial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.50.

Rentokil Initial Stock Up 2.7%

NYSE:RTO opened at $32.60 on Thursday. Rentokil Initial has a 1-year low of $19.60 and a 1-year high of $33.47. The company’s 50-day moving average is $31.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Rentokil Initial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.412 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 266.0%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RTO. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 105.8% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,553,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,232,000 after acquiring an additional 798,660 shares during the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rentokil Initial in the third quarter valued at $39,946,000. Clark Estates Inc. NY purchased a new position in Rentokil Initial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,332,000. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA grew its stake in Rentokil Initial by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA now owns 871,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,003,000 after purchasing an additional 48,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisor OS LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rentokil Initial during the third quarter worth approximately $1,014,000. 9.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Rentokil Initial

Rentokil Initial PLC is a global business services company specializing in pest control, hygiene and workwear services. Headquartered in Crawley, West Sussex, United Kingdom, the company delivers outsourced solutions designed to protect people, preserve assets and enhance workplaces for both commercial and residential customers.

Under the Rentokil Pest Control brand, the company offers services ranging from routine inspections and treatment of insects, rodents and birds to specialised programmes for food manufacturing and healthcare environments.