Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $22.92, but opened at $24.46. Rentokil Initial shares last traded at $24.33, with a volume of 98,192 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on RTO shares. UBS Group raised Rentokil Initial from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Barclays raised shares of Rentokil Initial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Rentokil Initial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Rentokil Initial from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.00.

Rentokil Initial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.23.

Rentokil Initial Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.2034 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rentokil Initial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial by 81.3% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 968 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Rentokil Initial during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Rentokil Initial by 403.3% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC bought a new position in Rentokil Initial during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Rentokil Initial during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 9.91% of the company’s stock.

Rentokil Initial Company Profile

Rentokil Initial plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides route-based services in North America, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and internationally. It offers a range of pest control services for rodents, and flying and crawling insects, as well as other forms of wildlife management for commercial customers.