Rollins (NYSE:ROL) Reaches New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $52.39 and last traded at $52.44, with a volume of 362487 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $50.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Rollins from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.00.

Rollins Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $24.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.81 and a beta of 0.76. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $48.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23. Rollins had a net margin of 14.18% and a return on equity of 38.67%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rollins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Rollins's dividend payout ratio is 68.75%.

Institutional Trading of Rollins

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ROL. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Rollins by 157.7% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 10,028 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 6,137 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Rollins by 27.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,169 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,172,000 after buying an additional 4,946 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Rollins by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 16,613 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $840,000 after purchasing an additional 2,497 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in Rollins by 4.3% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,354 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in Rollins by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 32,326 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,635,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.