Rentokil Initial PLC (NYSE:RTO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Rentokil Initial PLC (NYSE:RTO) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company.

Several analysts recently weighed in on RTO shares. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Rentokil Initial to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Rentokil Initial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Rentokil Initial from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th.

Rentokil Initial Stock Performance

Shares of RTO stock opened at $26.65 on Friday. Rentokil Initial has a fifty-two week low of $19.60 and a fifty-two week high of $27.96. The firm has a market cap of $13.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $25.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.99.

Rentokil Initial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.2738 dividend. This represents a yield of 240.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Rentokil Initial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RTO. Gates Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Rentokil Initial by 5.7% during the first quarter. Gates Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,615,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,490,000 after acquiring an additional 357,292 shares in the last quarter. Voss Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 3,471,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,508,000 after purchasing an additional 381,659 shares in the last quarter. Sunriver Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial by 115.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sunriver Management LLC now owns 2,057,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,371,000 after buying an additional 1,102,353 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Rentokil Initial by 143.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,821,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,721,000 after buying an additional 1,073,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in Rentokil Initial by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,794,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,103,000 after buying an additional 482,429 shares in the last quarter. 9.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rentokil Initial Company Profile

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.