Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $23.08, but opened at $22.44. Rentokil Initial shares last traded at $22.63, with a volume of 84,594 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Rentokil Initial Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Rentokil Initial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a yield of 1.7%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rentokil Initial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Rentokil Initial by 345,196.7% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,560,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,560,289 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Rentokil Initial by 130.7% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,839,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,530,000 after buying an additional 1,041,860 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. acquired a new position in Rentokil Initial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,093,000. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT raised its stake in Rentokil Initial by 47.7% during the 2nd quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT now owns 542,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,091,000 after acquiring an additional 175,304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Rentokil Initial by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,015,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,768,000 after acquiring an additional 109,561 shares during the period. 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.