Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Rentokil Initial PLC (NYSE:RTO) reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $23.17 and last traded at $23.1150, with a volume of 1889802 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on RTO. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Rentokil Initial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research cut Rentokil Initial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered Rentokil Initial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. BNP Paribas Exane cut Rentokil Initial from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $26.70 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Rentokil Initial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.90.

Rentokil Initial Stock Down 3.0%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $26.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Rentokil Initial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.224 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 188.0%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rentokil Initial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rentokil Initial by 292.0% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 117,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,687,000 after purchasing an additional 87,405 shares during the period. Creative Planning bought a new stake in Rentokil Initial in the second quarter worth $393,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Rentokil Initial by 2,549.7% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 93,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,236,000 after buying an additional 89,649 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Rentokil Initial by 40.0% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 1,309 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Rentokil Initial by 19.7% during the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 10,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736 shares during the last quarter. 9.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Rentokil Initial

Rentokil Initial PLC is a global business services company specializing in pest control, hygiene and workwear services. Headquartered in Crawley, West Sussex, United Kingdom, the company delivers outsourced solutions designed to protect people, preserve assets and enhance workplaces for both commercial and residential customers.

Under the Rentokil Pest Control brand, the company offers services ranging from routine inspections and treatment of insects, rodents and birds to specialised programmes for food manufacturing and healthcare environments.