Rollins (NYSE:ROL) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on ROL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Rollins from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Rollins in a research report on Monday, November 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Rollins Price Performance

Shares of ROL traded down $0.17 on Friday, reaching $46.68. The stock had a trading volume of 1,355,571 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,697,856. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $48.93 and a 200 day moving average of $49.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.61 billion, a PE ratio of 48.63 and a beta of 0.72. Rollins has a twelve month low of $40.41 and a twelve month high of $52.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $916.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $911.15 million. Rollins had a net margin of 14.18% and a return on equity of 38.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Rollins will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 4,685 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.49, for a total transaction of $236,545.65. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 84,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,274,129.97. The trade was a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 14,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total value of $735,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 124,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,195,794.32. This represents a 10.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rollins

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ROL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Rollins by 22.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,280,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $115,323,000 after acquiring an additional 420,399 shares in the last quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. increased its holdings in Rollins by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 444,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,485,000 after purchasing an additional 10,950 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Rollins by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 399,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,202,000 after purchasing an additional 13,697 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in shares of Rollins during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,279,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Rollins by 54.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 173,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,725,000 after buying an additional 61,475 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.79% of the company’s stock.

About Rollins

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.