Rollins (NYSE:ROL) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $52.16 and last traded at $52.06, with a volume of 316148 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ROL shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.83.

Rollins Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $24.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.07 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.57.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). Rollins had a return on equity of 38.67% and a net margin of 14.18%. The business had revenue of $916.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $911.15 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This is an increase from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio is 68.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rollins news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.74, for a total value of $237,716.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 89,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,533,010.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 4.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROL. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Rollins in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rollins in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in Rollins in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 10,233.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 921 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

Rollins Company Profile

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.