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

Shares of Rentokil Initial PLC (NYSE:RTO) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.90.

Several brokerages have issued reports on RTO. Weiss Ratings lowered Rentokil Initial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Rentokil Initial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Rentokil Initial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Rentokil Initial from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $26.70 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, July 31st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rentokil Initial

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RTO. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial by 3.0% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 16,591,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,329,000 after purchasing an additional 490,885 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 60.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,650,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,373,000 after purchasing an additional 2,511,135 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in Rentokil Initial by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,463,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,558,000 after purchasing an additional 267,204 shares during the period. Snyder Capital Management L P boosted its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Snyder Capital Management L P now owns 1,733,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,067,000 after purchasing an additional 244,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summitry LLC increased its position in Rentokil Initial by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 1,475,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,482,000 after purchasing an additional 25,170 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.91% of the company’s stock.

Rentokil Initial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RTO opened at $23.53 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.06. Rentokil Initial has a twelve month low of $23.22 and a twelve month high of $34.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Rentokil Initial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.224 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a yield of 188.0%.

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.