Royal Bank of Canada Reaffirms Outperform Rating for Rollins (NYSE:ROL)

Royal Bank of Canada restated their outperform rating on shares of Rollins (NYSE:ROL) in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $52.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on ROL. StockNews.com raised Rollins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Rollins from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Rollins in a report on Monday, November 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rollins currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.40.

Rollins Stock Down 1.2 %

Rollins stock opened at $45.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Rollins has a fifty-two week low of $40.41 and a fifty-two week high of $52.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $48.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.11. The firm has a market cap of $22.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.53 and a beta of 0.75.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $916.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $911.15 million. Rollins had a return on equity of 38.67% and a net margin of 14.18%. Rollins’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Rollins will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $0.165 dividend. This is a boost from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.75%.

Insider Transactions at Rollins

In related news, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total value of $735,730.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 124,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,195,794.32. The trade was a 10.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ROL. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Rollins in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,428,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Rollins by 54.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 173,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,725,000 after buying an additional 61,475 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in Rollins during the third quarter worth about $5,102,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rollins by 13.7% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 661,997 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,484,000 after buying an additional 79,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Rollins by 22.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,280,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $115,323,000 after acquiring an additional 420,399 shares during the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rollins Company Profile

Rollins, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides pest and wildlife control services to residential and commercial customers in the United States and internationally. The company offers pest control services to residential properties protecting from common pests, including rodents, insects, and wildlife.