Rollins (NYSE:ROL) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Rollins (NYSE:ROL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Rollins in a report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group restated a neutral rating and issued a $49.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Rollins from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $47.00.

Rollins Stock Performance

Shares of ROL stock opened at $48.50 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.36. The company has a market capitalization of $23.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Rollins has a 1-year low of $32.19 and a 1-year high of $48.59.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. The company had revenue of $748.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.12 million. Rollins had a return on equity of 37.73% and a net margin of 13.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.18 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Rollins will post 1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. Rollins’s payout ratio is 67.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Kenneth D. Krause sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $225,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 94,078 shares in the company, valued at $4,233,510. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Rollins news, CEO Jerry Jr. Gahlhoff sold 12,000 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.20, for a total value of $566,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 288,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,625,271.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kenneth D. Krause sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $225,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 94,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,233,510. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,331 shares of company stock valued at $949,623 over the last 90 days. 4.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rollins

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rollins by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,181 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in Rollins by 350.8% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 368,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,118,000 after acquiring an additional 286,780 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co. raised its holdings in Rollins by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 50,055 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,316,000 after acquiring an additional 1,958 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rollins during the 1st quarter worth approximately $319,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Rollins by 4,697.4% during 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 during the period. Institutional investors 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.