Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Rentokil Initial PLC (NYSE:RTO) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $23.22 and last traded at $23.2650, with a volume of 150942 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.44.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Rentokil Initial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane cut Rentokil Initial from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $26.70 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings cut Rentokil Initial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Rentokil Initial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rentokil Initial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.90.

Rentokil Initial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $27.23 and its 200 day moving average is $30.19.

Rentokil Initial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.224 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 188.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th.

Institutional Trading of Rentokil Initial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial by 60.7% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,650,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,373,000 after acquiring an additional 2,511,135 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Rentokil Initial by 3.0% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 16,591,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,329,000 after purchasing an additional 490,885 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Rentokil Initial by 93,129.5% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 293,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,048,000 after purchasing an additional 293,358 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 124.4% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 486,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,281,000 after purchasing an additional 269,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,463,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,558,000 after purchasing an additional 267,204 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.91% of the company’s stock.

Rentokil Initial Company Profile

Rentokil Initial PLC is a global business services company specializing in pest control, hygiene and workwear services. Headquartered in Crawley, West Sussex, United Kingdom, the company delivers outsourced solutions designed to protect people, preserve assets and enhance workplaces for both commercial and residential customers.

Under the Rentokil Pest Control brand, the company offers services ranging from routine inspections and treatment of insects, rodents and birds to specialised programmes for food manufacturing and healthcare environments.