Rollins (NYSE:ROL) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $35.25 and last traded at $35.3480, with a volume of 5236770 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Rollins and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Rollins from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $52.00 to $40.00 in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Argus downgraded shares of Rollins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Rollins in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price (down from $55.00) on shares of Rollins in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.71.

Rollins Trading Down 2.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $39.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.19. The company has a market cap of $16.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.74.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.02). Rollins had a net margin of 13.55% and a return on equity of 38.81%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. Rollins’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.1825 per share. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Rollins’s payout ratio is currently 66.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rollins

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Rollins during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,204,334,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Rollins by 5,022.4% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 20,917,333 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $873,089,000 after acquiring an additional 20,508,985 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Rollins by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,850,361 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $771,279,000 after acquiring an additional 575,946 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Rollins by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,163,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $608,256,000 after acquiring an additional 626,866 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Rollins by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,089,189 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $365,473,000 after acquiring an additional 461,869 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

About Rollins

Rollins, Inc (NYSE: ROL) is a provider of pest and termite control services operating through a network of subsidiaries and franchises. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company offers a broad range of pest management solutions for both residential and commercial customers, positioning itself as a specialist in protecting property and public health from pests and vectors.

Its service offerings include general pest control, termite inspection and treatment, bed bug remediation, mosquito and vector control, wildlife exclusion, and related specialty services.