Rollins (NYSE:ROL) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $49.75, but opened at $47.61. Rollins shares last traded at $47.46, with a volume of 594,989 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Rollins in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Rollins from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Rollins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.80.

Rollins Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $22.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.56 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.14.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.27. The business had revenue of $891.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $895.02 million. Rollins had a return on equity of 40.10% and a net margin of 14.23%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rollins, Inc. will post 1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This is a positive change from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Rollins’s payout ratio is 63.83%.

Insider Activity at Rollins

In related news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.74, for a total value of $237,716.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 89,338 shares in the company, valued at $4,533,010.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,686 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.82, for a total transaction of $224,084.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 95,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,543,999.86. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.74, for a total transaction of $237,716.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,533,010.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,056 shares of company stock worth $698,347 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ROL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Rollins by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,438,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,500,927,000 after buying an additional 206,873 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rollins by 1.5% in 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 buying an additional 148,316 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Rollins by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,826,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $130,765,000 after buying an additional 357,535 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Rollins by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,825,569 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $137,860,000 after buying an additional 133,100 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Rollins by 8.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,156,892 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $105,247,000 after acquiring an additional 172,009 shares during the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.