Rollins (NYSE:ROL) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Rollins (NYSE:ROL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

ROL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Rollins from $46.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on Rollins from $44.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Barclays set a $45.00 target price on Rollins and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Rollins from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Rollins from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rollins has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.56.

Rollins Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:ROL opened at $38.63 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.73. Rollins has a 1-year low of $29.28 and a 1-year high of $66.14. The company’s fifty day moving average is $33.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.62.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34. Rollins had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 39.43%. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Rollins will post 1.14 EPS for the current year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is an increase from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1825. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. Rollins’s payout ratio is currently 66.97%.

Institutional Trading of Rollins

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Rollins during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,204,334,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 3.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,561,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $566,046,000 after purchasing an additional 488,046 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 2.4% in the first quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 3,669,234 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $195,974,000 after purchasing an additional 87,139 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 3.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,858,888 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $152,686,000 after purchasing an additional 94,116 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 10.7% in the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,849,086 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $115,974,000 after purchasing an additional 371,356 shares during the period. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Rollins

Rollins, Inc is a global provider of pest and termite control services for residential and commercial customers. Its services include inspections, prevention and treatment for common household and business pests, as well as termite protection, mosquito control and wildlife removal.

The company operates through brands including Orkin, HomeTeam Pest Defense and Clark Pest Control. Founded in 1948, Rollins expanded into pest control with its 1964 acquisition of Orkin, which remains one of its best-known brands.

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Rollins serves customers across the United States and in international markets.