Rentokil Initial PLC (NYSE:RTO) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Rentokil Initial PLC (NYSE:RTO) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from six analysts, with varying ratings including one sell, one hold, two buy, and two strong buy recommendations.
• The company's shares have seen significant interest from institutional investors, with several hedge funds increasing their stakes, including a notable 120.3% increase by Squarepoint Ops LLC in the second quarter.
• Rentokil Initial recently cut its dividend, reflecting a payout ratio of only 21.85% despite announcing a semi-annual dividend yield of 240.0%.

Shares of Rentokil Initial PLC (NYSE:RTO - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company.

RTO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rentokil Initial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Rentokil Initial from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Rentokil Initial to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th.

Rentokil Initial Stock Performance

NYSE:RTO opened at $26.96 on Friday. Rentokil Initial has a 52 week low of $19.60 and a 52 week high of $27.96. The firm's fifty day moving average is $24.94 and its 200-day moving average is $23.86. The firm has a market cap of $13.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.95.

Rentokil Initial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $0.2738 dividend. This represents a yield of 240.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Rentokil Initial's payout ratio is presently 21.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rentokil Initial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RTO. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 41.3% during the third quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 23,532 shares of the company's stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 6,883 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 38.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 8,886 shares of the company's stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 2,490 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rentokil Initial by 120.3% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 54,501 shares of the company's stock worth $1,308,000 after acquiring an additional 29,762 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its position in Rentokil Initial by 669.3% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 15,509 shares of the company's stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 13,493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Rentokil Initial by 93,129.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 293,673 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,048,000 after purchasing an additional 293,358 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.91% of the company's stock.

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.

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