Rollins (NYSE:ROL) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

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

ROL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Rollins from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Rollins in a report on Monday, November 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.00.

Rollins Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE ROL traded down $0.17 on Friday, hitting $46.68. 1,355,571 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,697,856. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $48.93 and a 200 day moving average of $49.21. Rollins has a twelve month low of $40.41 and a twelve month high of $52.16. The company has a market capitalization of $22.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.63 and a beta of 0.72.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). Rollins had a return on equity of 38.67% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm had revenue of $916.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $911.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Rollins will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $735,730.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 124,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,195,794.32. This trade represents a 10.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.49, for a total value of $236,545.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 84,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,274,129.97. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rollins

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ROL. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Rollins by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 10,023,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $489,036,000 after acquiring an additional 148,316 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 14.0% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 9,397,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $465,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,722 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Rollins by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,275,415 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $366,821,000 after purchasing an additional 157,619 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Rollins by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,825,569 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $137,860,000 after purchasing an additional 133,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Rollins by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,280,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $115,323,000 after buying an additional 420,399 shares during the period. 51.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rollins Company Profile

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.