Rollins (NYSE:ROL) Stock Rating Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a $65.00 price objective on the business services provider's stock, up from their previous price objective of $55.00. Jefferies Financial Group's price target indicates a potential upside of 12.53% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Rollins from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on Rollins from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $61.00 price objective on Rollins and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Rollins from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.75.

Rollins Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROL traded down $0.28 during trading on Monday, hitting $57.76. 521,667 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,742,503. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $55.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $27.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.17 and a beta of 0.79. Rollins has a 1 year low of $45.34 and a 1 year high of $58.65.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. The business had revenue of $822.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $817.09 million. Rollins had a return on equity of 37.94% and a net margin of 13.76%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.20 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Rollins will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 1,921 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.81, for a total value of $101,448.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 39,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,093,388.40. The trade was a 4.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman John F. Wilson sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.77, for a total value of $2,270,800.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 662,727 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,623,011.79. This represents a 5.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,763 shares of company stock valued at $2,580,331 over the last quarter. Insiders own 4.47% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Apeiron RIA LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rollins during the first quarter worth $503,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Rollins by 75.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 870 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of Rollins by 43.7% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 72,443 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,914,000 after buying an additional 22,038 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in Rollins during the first quarter worth about $428,000. Finally, SCS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rollins during the 1st quarter worth about $251,000. Institutional investors own 51.79% of the company's stock.

Rollins Company Profile

Rollins, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides pest and wildlife control services to residential and commercial customers in the United States and internationally. The company offers pest control services to residential properties protecting from common pests, including rodents, insects, and wildlife.