Rollins, Inc. $ROL Shares Bought by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Key Points

• Institutional ownership increased: The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its Rollins stake by 16.8% to 216,278 shares, while other institutional investors also added positions. Institutions and hedge funds now own 51.79% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is cautious: Rollins has an average “Hold” rating and a $48.71 consensus price target, with JPMorgan cutting its target to $45 and maintaining an “Underweight” rating.
• Recent results fell slightly short: Second-quarter EPS was $0.32 versus the $0.34 estimate, while revenue reached $1.08 billion, up 7.9% year over year but slightly below expectations. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.1825 per share, representing a 1.9% yield.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Free Report) by 16.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 216,278 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 31,173 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Rollins were worth $11,551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 7,344 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Rollins by 107.5% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 466,732 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $24,928,000 after purchasing an additional 241,753 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of Rollins during the first quarter worth $526,000. Inceptionr LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rollins during the first quarter worth $263,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in Rollins by 100.8% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 105,197 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,619,000 after purchasing an additional 52,815 shares during the period. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROL has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (down from $70.00) on shares of Rollins in a report on Friday. Citigroup started coverage on Rollins in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Loop Capital started coverage on Rollins in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $45.00 target price on Rollins in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.71.

Rollins Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ROL opened at $38.59 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $46.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.72. Rollins, Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.59 and a 1 year high of $66.14. The company has a market capitalization of $18.57 billion, a PE ratio of 35.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.02). Rollins had a net margin of 13.55% and a return on equity of 38.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Rollins Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. Rollins's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.36%.

Key Stories Impacting Rollins

Here are the key news stories impacting Rollins this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management said termite and ancillary services continued to post solid growth, and lead volumes improved toward late June and early July, which could support a recovery in coming quarters.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts still see upside from current levels despite trimming targets, including Piper Sandler maintaining an overweight rating and BNP Paribas Exane keeping a neutral view with a higher target than the stock’s recent trading level.
• Neutral Sentiment: Rollins has been described as balancing solid Q2 growth with a softer outlook, suggesting the quarter was mixed rather than uniformly negative.
• Neutral Sentiment: Ongoing media coverage around the earnings call and transcript is reinforcing investor focus on management’s commentary about demand trends and margin performance.
• Negative Sentiment: Rollins reported Q2 earnings of $0.32 per share, below the consensus estimate of $0.34, and revenue of about $1.08 billion also came in slightly short of expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts turned more cautious after the report, with JPMorgan reaffirming an underweight rating and sharply lowering its price target, while Bank of America also cut its target and kept a neutral stance.
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary around slower residential demand and a “downbeat” earnings release has added to the selloff, as the market appears to be recalibrating expectations after a period of high optimism.

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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