Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Rentokil Initial PLC (NYSE:RTO)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $23.22 and last traded at $23.2650, with a volume of 150942 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $23.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RTO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Rentokil Initial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Rentokil Initial from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $26.70 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen cut Rentokil Initial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Rentokil Initial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rentokil Initial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.90.

Rentokil Initial Trading Up 0.3%

The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The business’s fifty day moving average is $27.03 and its 200 day moving average is $30.08.

Rentokil Initial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.224 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 188.0%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rentokil Initial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in Rentokil Initial by 292.0% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 117,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,687,000 after purchasing an additional 87,405 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning purchased a new stake in shares of Rentokil Initial in the 2nd quarter worth about $393,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Rentokil Initial by 2,549.7% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 93,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,236,000 after acquiring an additional 89,649 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Rentokil Initial by 19.7% during the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 10,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736 shares during the last quarter. 9.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Rentokil Initial

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.