Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) saw a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,750,000 shares, a decrease of 40.1% from the February 28th total of 2,920,000 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 727,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on RTO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup upgraded Rentokil Initial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rentokil Initial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 3.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 16,990,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,573,000 after acquiring an additional 617,227 shares during the period. Gates Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Gates Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,258,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,453,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084,845 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 114.2% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 3,786,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,862,000 after acquiring an additional 2,018,866 shares during the period. Voss Capital LP boosted its position in Rentokil Initial by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 3,090,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,246,000 after purchasing an additional 540,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIG Capital LLC grew its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. MIG Capital LLC now owns 1,543,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,091,000 after purchasing an additional 347,882 shares during the last quarter. 9.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rentokil Initial Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:RTO opened at $22.92 on Monday. Rentokil Initial has a 1-year low of $20.60 and a 1-year high of $34.07. The stock has a market cap of $11.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.18, a P/E/G ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $24.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Rentokil Initial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.3825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a yield of 2.4%. Rentokil Initial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.71%.

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.