Rentokil Initial PLC (NYSE:RTO) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Rentokil Initial PLC (NYSE:RTO) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $34.00.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on RTO. Bank of America raised Rentokil Initial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Rentokil Initial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn cut shares of Rentokil Initial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rentokil Initial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RTO. Sepio Capital LP bought a new position in Rentokil Initial during the fourth quarter worth $217,000. GWN Securities Inc. grew its position in Rentokil Initial by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. GWN Securities Inc. now owns 99,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,924,000 after purchasing an additional 6,563 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Rentokil Initial during the 4th quarter worth about $212,000. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rentokil Initial by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 384,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,323,000 after purchasing an additional 46,709 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 1,678 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.91% of the company’s stock.

Rentokil Initial Price Performance

NYSE RTO opened at $32.49 on Thursday. Rentokil Initial has a fifty-two week low of $19.60 and a fifty-two week high of $33.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $30.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Rentokil Initial Company Profile

Rentokil Initial PLC is a global business services company specializing in pest control, hygiene and workwear services. Headquartered in Crawley, West Sussex, United Kingdom, the company delivers outsourced solutions designed to protect people, preserve assets and enhance workplaces for both commercial and residential customers.

Under the Rentokil Pest Control brand, the company offers services ranging from routine inspections and treatment of insects, rodents and birds to specialised programmes for food manufacturing and healthcare environments.