StockNews.com Downgrades Rollins (NYSE:ROL) to Hold

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

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on Rollins in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Rollins from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Rollins in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays started 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.83.

Rollins Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE ROL opened at $46.38 on Wednesday. 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 12 month low of $40.41 and a 12 month high of $52.16. The company has a market capitalization of $22.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.31 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $48.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.05.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rollins news, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $735,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 124,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,195,794.32. This trade represents a 10.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 4.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rollins

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ROL. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 24.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 15,187 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 1,384.9% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rollins during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rollins during the 2nd quarter worth $451,000. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Rollins by 16.8% in the 2nd 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.

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.