Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company.

Separately, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rentokil Initial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new stake in Rentokil Initial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $279,000. Hicks Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Rentokil Initial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $644,000. Balefire LLC lifted its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Balefire LLC now owns 83,113 shares of the company's stock worth $1,903,000 after buying an additional 6,750 shares during the period. Wealthquest Corp purchased a new stake in Rentokil Initial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, Keystone Financial Services lifted its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 11,392 shares of the company's stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 2,057 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.91% of the company's stock.

Rentokil Initial Trading Down 0.7 %

RTO traded down $0.17 on Wednesday, hitting $22.86. 1,040,497 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 767,756. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.04. Rentokil Initial has a 12 month low of $19.60 and a 12 month high of $34.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.54 billion, a PE ratio of 15.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 1.07.

Rentokil Initial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.3825 dividend. This represents a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. Rentokil Initial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.71%.

About Rentokil Initial

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.