Rollins Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:ROL)

Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 10,334 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 605% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,465 put options.

Institutional Trading of Rollins

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rollins during the second quarter worth approximately $1,204,334,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Rollins in the 2nd quarter worth about $84,181,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Rollins by 188.2% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,908,818 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $155,335,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899,515 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Rollins in the second quarter valued at approximately $65,993,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rollins in the second quarter valued at approximately $63,126,000. 51.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rollins Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:ROL traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.68. The stock had a trading volume of 2,665,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,521,311. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.88. Rollins has a 1-year low of $29.28 and a 1-year high of $66.14. The company has a market capitalization of $16.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.02). Rollins had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 13.55%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Rollins will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

Rollins Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a positive change from Rollins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1825. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Rollins’s payout ratio is presently 66.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on Rollins from $46.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Rollins from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research lowered Rollins from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial set a $35.00 price target on Rollins in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Rollins from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.47.

About Rollins

Rollins, Inc is a provider of pest and termite control services for residential and commercial customers. The company offers protection against common pests such as ants, cockroaches, rodents, termites, mosquitoes and bedbugs, along with wildlife control and other specialty services.

Rollins serves customers through a portfolio of regional and international brands, including Orkin, the company’s best-known pest control business; HomeTeam Pest Defense; Western Pest Services; Critter Control; and other local and specialized operations.