Rentokil Initial (LON:RTO) Stock Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Rentokil crossed above its 200-day moving average, trading as high as GBX 502.50 and last at GBX 493.90 versus a 200‑day MA of GBX 446.42, on heavy volume.
• Analysts are increasingly positive: Jefferies, Citigroup and UBS raised targets and/or upgraded to "buy," leaving a consensus of five Buys, one Hold and one Sell with an average price target of GBX 461.43 ("Moderate Buy").
• Insider buying and solid fundamentals: director Sally Johnson bought 2,676 shares at GBX 483, while the company shows a market cap of £12.43bn, P/E of 26.64 and debt-to-equity of 111.54.

Rentokil Initial plc (LON:RTO - Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 446.42 and traded as high as GBX 502.50. Rentokil Initial shares last traded at GBX 493.90, with a volume of 1,279,220,625 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RTO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Rentokil Initial from GBX 540 to GBX 550 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "hold" rating and issued a GBX 390 price objective on shares of Rentokil Initial in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Rentokil Initial from GBX 550 to GBX 575 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Rentokil Initial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from GBX 430 to GBX 540 in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of GBX 461.43.

Rentokil Initial Stock Down 1.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 111.54. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 470.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 446.42. The stock has a market cap of £12.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rentokil Initial

In other news, insider Sally Johnson bought 2,676 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 483 per share, for a total transaction of £12,925.08. Company insiders own 2.82% of the company's stock.

Rentokil Initial Company Profile

Rentokil Initial plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides route-based services in North America, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and internationally. It offers a range of pest control services for rodents, and flying and crawling insects, as well as other forms of wildlife management for commercial customers. The company provides hygiene services, including the provision and maintenance of products, such as soap and hand sanitizer dispensers, hand dryers, air care and purification, cubicle and surface sanitizers, feminine hygiene units, toilet paper dispensers, and floor protection mats.

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