Empowered Funds LLC Invests $1.94 Million in Rollins, Inc. $ROL

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC initiated a $1.94 million position in Rollins during the second quarter, while several other institutional investors also increased their holdings; institutions now own 51.79% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with Rollins carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $48.71. Recent targets were reduced by UBS, BNP Paribas Exane, and JPMorgan.
• Rollins shares opened at $35.65, near their 52-week low, after the company narrowly missed quarterly EPS and revenue estimates despite 7.9% year-over-year revenue growth. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.1825 per share, representing a 2.0% yield.

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 46,454 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,939,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. National Pension Service boosted its stake in Rollins by 138.3% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 51,277 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,078,000 after buying an additional 29,758 shares during the last quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. grew its holdings in Rollins by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 495,655 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $20,689,000 after buying an additional 39,925 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in Rollins by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 216,278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $11,551,000 after buying an additional 31,173 shares in the last quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 55.9% in the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 3,131,337 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $167,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 73.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,879,120 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $100,365,000 after acquiring an additional 794,722 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays set a $45.00 price target on shares of Rollins and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 price objective (down from $50.00) on shares of Rollins in a research report on Friday, July 24th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of Rollins from $63.00 to $44.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Rollins from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (down from $70.00) on shares of Rollins in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.71.

Rollins Stock Performance

Shares of Rollins stock opened at $35.65 on Friday. Rollins, Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.47 and a 52 week high of $66.14. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $39.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.52. The firm has a market cap of $17.15 billion, a PE ratio of 32.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Rollins had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 13.55%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. Rollins's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.36%.

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.

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