Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

Shares of Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 533,923 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the previous session’s volume of 716,796 shares.The stock last traded at $20.88 and had previously closed at $20.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised Rentokil Initial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Rentokil Initial Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $24.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.63. The firm has a market cap of $10.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Rentokil Initial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.3825 dividend. This represents a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Rentokil Initial’s payout ratio is 43.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rentokil Initial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in Rentokil Initial during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Assetmark Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rentokil Initial during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial by 65.2% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rentokil Initial by 30.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 15,208.3% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,825 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.91% of the company’s stock.

About Rentokil Initial

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.