Rentokil Initial plc (LON:RTO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Rentokil Initial plc (LON:RTO) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is GBX 636.80 ($7.87).

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 500 ($6.18) price objective on shares of Rentokil Initial in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Rentokil Initial from GBX 575 ($7.10) to GBX 590 ($7.29) and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 600 ($7.41) price target on shares of Rentokil Initial in a research report on Thursday, April 18th.

Insider Transactions at Rentokil Initial

In other news, insider Andy M. Ransom sold 464,245 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 489 ($6.04), for a total transaction of £2,270,158.05 ($2,804,048.97). Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Rentokil Initial Stock Performance

Shares of RTO traded down GBX 1.50 ($0.02) on Tuesday, reaching GBX 425 ($5.25). 8,679,728 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,569,469. The firm has a market cap of £10.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2,833.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 116.93, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.76. Rentokil Initial has a 12 month low of GBX 387.80 ($4.79) and a 12 month high of GBX 663.80 ($8.20). The stock’s 50-day moving average price is GBX 450.83 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 447.22.

Rentokil Initial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of GBX 5.93 ($0.07) per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This is a boost from Rentokil Initial’s previous dividend of $2.75. Rentokil Initial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6,000.00%.

Rentokil Initial Company Profile

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.