Canaccord Genuity Group Initiates Coverage on Rollins (NYSE:ROL)

Investment analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on shares of Rollins (NYSE:ROL) in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “hold” rating and a $48.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 3.49% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on ROL. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Rollins from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Rollins in a report on Monday. Barclays began coverage on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Rollins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.83.

Rollins Trading Up 1.4 %

ROL opened at $46.38 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Rollins has a twelve month low of $40.41 and a twelve month high of $52.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.31 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.09.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $911.15 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Rollins will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $735,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 124,214 shares in the company, valued at $6,195,794.32. This trade represents a 10.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 4.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rollins

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Rollins during the third quarter worth $1,428,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Rollins by 54.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 173,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,725,000 after acquiring an additional 61,475 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of Rollins in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,102,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Rollins by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 661,997 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,484,000 after purchasing an additional 79,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Rollins by 22.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,280,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $115,323,000 after purchasing an additional 420,399 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.