Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $22.92, but opened at $24.46. Rentokil Initial shares last traded at $24.33, with a volume of 98,192 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Rentokil Initial Trading Up 7.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.86 and a 200 day moving average of $28.29. The firm has a market cap of $12.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 1.10.

Rentokil Initial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.2034 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a yield of 1.7%. Rentokil Initial’s dividend payout ratio is 24.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rentokil Initial

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in Rentokil Initial by 81.3% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Rentokil Initial during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Rentokil Initial by 403.3% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Rentokil Initial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Rentokil Initial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. 9.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.