Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Shares of Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . 533,923 shares changed hands during 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

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Rentokil Initial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Rentokil Initial Trading Up 3.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $10.80 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16, a PEG ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Rentokil Initial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid 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%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rentokil Initial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in Rentokil Initial during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 402 shares during the period. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial by 15,208.3% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,825 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.