Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Rollins (NYSE:ROL) Stock

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $52.00 to $62.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the business services provider's stock. Royal Bank of Canada's price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.37% from the stock's previous close.

ROL has been the subject of a number of other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Rollins from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Rollins from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on Rollins from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Rollins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Rollins from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.50.

Rollins Price Performance

Rollins stock traded up $0.94 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $55.67. 1,793,998 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,711,330. Rollins has a 12-month low of $42.25 and a 12-month high of $56.26. The company has a market cap of $27.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.99 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $52.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Rollins (NYSE:ROL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Rollins had a return on equity of 37.94% and a net margin of 13.76%. Equities analysts forecast that Rollins will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Elizabeth B. Chandler sold 13,193 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total transaction of $675,217.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,526 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,916,600.68. This trade represents a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Traci Hornfeck sold 3,224 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.10, for a total value of $171,194.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $509,866.20. This trade represents a 25.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,259 shares of company stock worth $1,047,330 in the last 90 days. 4.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rollins

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROL. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new position in Rollins in the first quarter valued at $439,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Rollins by 372.7% in the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 1,267,167 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $68,465,000 after purchasing an additional 999,112 shares during the period. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH increased its position in shares of Rollins by 0.7% in the first quarter. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH now owns 272,990 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $14,750,000 after buying an additional 1,858 shares in the last quarter. Suncoast Equity Management grew its stake in Rollins by 85.1% in the 1st quarter. Suncoast Equity Management now owns 75,200 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,063,000 after acquiring an additional 34,575 shares during the period. Finally, Appleton Partners Inc. MA increased its holdings in Rollins by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 53,048 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,866,000 after acquiring an additional 3,683 shares in the last quarter. 51.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rollins Company Profile

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.