Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) has received an average 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 issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $48.17.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ROL shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Rollins in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Rollins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Rollins Price Performance

ROL stock opened at $50.14 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.02. The company has a market capitalization of $24.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.34 and a beta of 0.70. Rollins has a twelve month low of $32.19 and a twelve month high of $51.96. 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 (NYSE:ROL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.27. Rollins had a return on equity of 40.10% and a net margin of 14.23%. The company had revenue of $891.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $895.02 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.23 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rollins will post 1 EPS for the current year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.83%.

Insider Transactions at Rollins

In other Rollins news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.74, for a total transaction of $237,716.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,338 shares in the company, valued at $4,533,010.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.74, for a total value of $237,716.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 89,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,533,010.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,686 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.82, for a total transaction of $224,084.52. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,023 shares in the company, valued at $4,543,999.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,056 shares of company stock valued at $698,347. 4.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rollins

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Rollins in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in Rollins in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in Rollins by 43.9% in the second quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 774 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 10,233.3% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Rollins by 114.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

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.