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

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

Several other analysts have also commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed 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 assumed coverage on Rollins in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.83.

Rollins Stock Performance

ROL opened at $49.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $24.08 billion, a PE ratio of 55.88 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Rollins has a 1 year low of $32.19 and a 1 year high of $51.96. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.78.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rollins news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.74, for a total value of $237,716.90. Following 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Rollins news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,686 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 available through this link. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $4,533,010.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,056 shares of company stock valued at $698,347. 4.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Rollins by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,826,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $130,765,000 after acquiring an additional 357,535 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Rollins by 185.0% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 384,935 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,781,000 after acquiring an additional 249,860 shares during the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Rollins by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 375,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,390,000 after acquiring an additional 64,639 shares during the last quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP boosted its stake in Rollins by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 107,376 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,689,000 after acquiring an additional 22,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Rollins by 4,697.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 324,109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,997,000 after acquiring an additional 317,353 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.