Rentokil Initial PLC (NYSE:RTO) Short Interest Up 41.1% in August

Key Points

• Short interest in Rentokil Initial PLC increased by 41.1% in August, rising to 3,160,000 shares, indicating heightened bearish sentiment towards the stock.
• Hedge funds have significantly increased their holdings in Rentokil, with Northern Trust Corp leading with a 94.8% increase during the fourth quarter.
• The company announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.2738 per share to be paid on September 23rd, translating to a yield of 240.0%.

Rentokil Initial PLC (NYSE:RTO - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,160,000 shares, anincreaseof41.1% from the July 31st total of 2,240,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 740,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days. Approximately0.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Approximately0.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 740,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Institutional Trading of Rentokil Initial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 19,174 shares of the company's stock valued at $485,000 after acquiring an additional 1,523 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 94.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 462,657 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,714,000 after acquiring an additional 225,214 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of Rentokil Initial in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,697,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Rentokil Initial by 72.9% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 28,577 shares of the company's stock worth $724,000 after buying an additional 12,049 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Rentokil Initial by 277.4% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,661 shares of the company's stock worth $827,000 after buying an additional 24,006 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.91% of the company's stock.

Rentokil Initial Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:RTO traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $25.96. The company had a trading volume of 500,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 825,917. Rentokil Initial has a 12 month low of $19.60 and a 12 month high of $31.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $13.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.19, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.52.

Rentokil Initial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.2738 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a yield of 240.0%. Rentokil Initial's payout ratio is currently 29.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on RTO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Rentokil Initial in a report on Monday, July 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Rentokil Initial from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

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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