StockNews.com Upgrades Rollins (NYSE:ROL) to Buy

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Rollins in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Rollins in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.83.

Rollins Stock Down 0.1 %

ROL opened at $50.51 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $49.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.75 and a beta of 0.70. Rollins has a fifty-two week low of $32.19 and a fifty-two week high of $51.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.27. Rollins had a return on equity of 40.10% and a net margin of 14.23%. The firm had revenue of $891.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $895.02 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 EPS. Rollins’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Rollins will post 1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rollins

In related news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,686 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.82, for a total transaction of $224,084.52. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 95,023 shares in the company, valued at $4,543,999.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,686 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.82, for a total transaction of $224,084.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 95,023 shares in the company, valued at $4,543,999.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.74, for a total transaction of $237,716.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,338 shares in the company, valued at $4,533,010.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rollins by 102.8% in the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,688,661 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $73,744,000 after buying an additional 855,882 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its position in shares of Rollins by 10,056.4% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 485,068 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,183,000 after purchasing an additional 480,292 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Rollins by 502.8% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 572,181 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,475,000 after purchasing an additional 477,256 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Rollins by 14.5% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,826,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $130,765,000 after purchasing an additional 357,535 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 4,697.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 324,109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,997,000 after purchasing an additional 317,353 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

About Rollins

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.