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

StockNews.com lowered shares of Rollins (NYSE:ROL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday morning.

ROL has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Rollins in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They issued an overweight rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Rollins in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rollins presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $47.83.

Rollins Price Performance

NYSE ROL opened at $50.04 on Tuesday. Rollins has a 1 year low of $32.19 and a 1 year high of $51.96. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $24.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.22 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Rollins Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Rollins’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.42%.

Insider Activity at Rollins

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rollins

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Rollins in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rollins in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 43.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 774 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of Rollins by 10,233.3% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 930 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Rollins by 114.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.