Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $47.83.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Rollins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Rollins in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a research report on Thursday, July 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,686 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.82, for a total value of $224,084.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,023 shares in the company, valued at $4,543,999.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Rollins news, CEO Jerry Jr. Gahlhoff sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.20, for a total value of $566,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 288,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,625,271.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,686 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.82, for a total transaction of $224,084.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,543,999.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,017 shares of company stock worth $948,707 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rollins

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Rollins by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,826,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $130,765,000 after acquiring an additional 357,535 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Rollins by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 268,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,706,000 after buying an additional 18,510 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,865,122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $81,452,000 after acquiring an additional 160,373 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Rollins by 185.0% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 384,935 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,781,000 after acquiring an additional 249,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montanaro Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in Rollins by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd now owns 201,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,800,000 after acquiring an additional 19,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Stock Performance

Shares of Rollins stock opened at $50.10 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Rollins has a 12 month low of $32.19 and a 12 month high of $50.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.70.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27. The company had revenue of $891.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $895.02 million. Rollins had a return on equity of 40.10% and a net margin of 14.23%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.23 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Rollins will post 1 EPS for the current year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio is 67.42%.

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.