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

Rentokil Initial PLC (NYSE:RTO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $23.26 and last traded at $23.6680, with a volume of 154575 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Rentokil Initial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Rentokil Initial from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $26.70 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Rentokil Initial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Rentokil Initial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Rentokil Initial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.90.

Rentokil Initial Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $27.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.43.

Rentokil Initial Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rentokil Initial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rentokil Initial by 3.0% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 16,591,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,329,000 after acquiring an additional 490,885 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Rentokil Initial by 60.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,650,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,373,000 after purchasing an additional 2,511,135 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 8.4% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Snyder Capital Management L P lifted its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Snyder Capital Management L P now owns 1,733,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,067,000 after purchasing an additional 244,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summitry LLC boosted its stake in Rentokil Initial by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 1,475,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,482,000 after purchasing an additional 25,170 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 9.91% of the company’s stock.

About Rentokil Initial

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.