StockNews.com Downgrades Rollins (NYSE:ROL) to Hold

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

ROL has been the subject of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Rollins in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $49.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.00.

Rollins Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of ROL stock opened at $44.90 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $44.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.11. Rollins has a 12-month low of $32.19 and a 12-month high of $47.45. The firm has a market cap of $21.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.63.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.20. Rollins had a return on equity of 37.47% and a net margin of 13.94%. The firm had revenue of $748.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.12 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Rollins will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Rollins news, CFO Kenneth D. Krause sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total transaction of $230,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 99,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,575,422.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Rollins news, CFO Kenneth D. Krause sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total transaction of $230,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 99,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,575,422.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.05, for a total value of $410,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,093,054.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 22,824 shares of company stock valued at $994,558. Insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ROL. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 853,925 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,511,000 after acquiring an additional 42,835 shares during the period. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 9,010 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $417,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 29.8% during the 1st quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 48,260 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,233,000 after acquiring an additional 11,094 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 55,872 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,585,000 after acquiring an additional 4,433 shares during the period. Finally, Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rollins by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 48,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,263,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

About Rollins

Rollins, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides pest and wildlife control services to residential and commercial customers in the United States and internationally. The company offers pest control services to residential properties protecting from common pests, including rodents, insects, and wildlife.