Hennessy Advisors Inc. Makes New $1.85 Million Investment in Rollins, Inc. $ROL

Key Points

• Hennessy Advisors acquired a new $1.85 million stake in Rollins during the second quarter, purchasing 44,298 shares. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 51.79% of the company.
• Rollins reported quarterly revenue of $1.08 billion, up 7.9% year over year, but missed analyst expectations on both revenue and earnings per share. Shares opened at $36.43, near their 52-week low of $35.81.
• Rollins declared a quarterly dividend of $0.1825 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.73 dividend and a 2.0% yield. Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $48.71.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 44,298 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,849,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Rollins by 138.3% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 51,277 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,078,000 after purchasing an additional 29,758 shares during the period. Dudley & Shanley Inc. boosted its stake in Rollins by 8.8% during the second 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 during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in Rollins by 16.8% during the first 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 during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Rollins by 55.9% during the first quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 3,131,337 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $167,260,000 after buying an additional 1,123,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.79% of the company's stock.

Rollins Stock Performance

Shares of ROL stock opened at $36.43 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.12, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 0.75. Rollins, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.81 and a fifty-two week high of $66.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.25.

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

Rollins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a $0.1825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Rollins's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ROL shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Rollins from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Rollins and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 price target (down from $55.00) on shares of Rollins in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (down from $70.00) on shares of Rollins in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Rollins from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.71.

Rollins Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source