Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company.

Several brokerages have commented on RTO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup raised Rentokil Initial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

Rentokil Initial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RTO opened at $20.93 on Friday. 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 has a 52 week low of $20.60 and a 52 week high of $34.07. The firm has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $24.07 and its 200-day moving average is $24.72.

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 dividend of $0.3825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a yield of 2.4%. Rentokil Initial’s payout ratio is currently 43.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RTO. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in Rentokil Initial by 65.2% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 30.1% during 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. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 15,208.3% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,825 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial by 486.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rentokil Initial during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. 9.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.