Rentokil Initial (LON:RTO) Sets New 12-Month Low - Should You Sell?

Shares of Rentokil Initial plc (LON:RTO - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as GBX 311.30 ($4.07) and last traded at GBX 317.30 ($4.15), with a volume of 54341910 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 335.18 ($4.39).

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on RTO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Rentokil Initial from GBX 485 ($6.35) to GBX 465 ($6.09) and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Rentokil Initial from GBX 440 ($5.76) to GBX 430 ($5.63) and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th.

Rentokil Initial Trading Up 0.9 %

The stock has a market cap of £8.39 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 113.35. The stock's fifty day moving average price is GBX 364.58 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 380.83.

Rentokil Initial (LON:RTO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported GBX 21.25 ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Rentokil Initial had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 7.25%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Rentokil Initial plc will post 25.8725561 EPS for the current year.

Rentokil Initial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of GBX 5.93 ($0.08) per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This is a boost from Rentokil Initial's previous dividend of $3.16. This represents a dividend yield of 1.78%. Rentokil Initial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andy M. Ransom sold 453,914 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 356 ($4.66), for a total transaction of £1,615,933.84 ($2,115,096.65). 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Rentokil Initial

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.