Rollins (NYSE:ROL) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on ROL. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Rollins from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on shares of Rollins in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.83.

Rollins Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE ROL opened at $46.38 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $22.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.31 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Rollins has a 52 week low of $40.41 and a 52 week high of $52.16.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $916.27 million during 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Rollins will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Rollins

In other Rollins news, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the 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 directly owns 124,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,195,794.32. This trade represents a 10.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rollins

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ROL. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Rollins by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 77,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,746,000 after purchasing an additional 15,187 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 1,384.9% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 11,998 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 11,190 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rollins in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rollins during the second quarter valued at approximately $451,000. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Rollins by 16.8% during the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 125,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,105,000 after buying an additional 18,020 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

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.