Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Rentokil Initial PLC (NYSE:RTO)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Bank of America upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. Bank of America now has a $34.00 price target on the stock. Rentokil Initial traded as high as $30.16 and last traded at $30.0760, with a volume of 492448 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.86.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on RTO. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Rentokil Initial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Rentokil Initial to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Rentokil Initial from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Rentokil Initial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rentokil Initial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rentokil Initial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RTO. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 416.9% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 115.5% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 668.3% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rentokil Initial by 171.0% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Rentokil Initial in the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. 9.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rentokil Initial Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.48.

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.