Short Interest in Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) Increases By 60.6%

Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,630,000 shares, an increase of 60.6% from the October 15th total of 2,260,000 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 900,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rentokil Initial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Rentokil Initial in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new position in Rentokil Initial in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Rentokil Initial by 403.3% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in Rentokil Initial in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC bought a new position in Rentokil Initial in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.91% of the company’s stock.

Rentokil Initial Stock Performance

Shares of RTO opened at $25.53 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $25.17 and a 200 day moving average of $27.91. Rentokil Initial has a fifty-two week low of $22.40 and a fifty-two week high of $34.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on RTO shares. Barclays raised Rentokil Initial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Rentokil Initial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Rentokil Initial from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.00.

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.