Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $24.35, but opened at $25.14. Rentokil Initial shares last traded at $25.41, with a volume of 323,392 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Citigroup upgraded Rentokil Initial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Rentokil Initial Stock Up 3.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $12.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65, a P/E/G ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Institutional Trading of Rentokil Initial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RTO. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 114.2% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 3,786,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,862,000 after acquiring an additional 2,018,866 shares during the period. Gates Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Rentokil Initial by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Gates Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,258,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,453,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084,845 shares during the last quarter. Snyder Capital Management L P bought a new position in shares of Rentokil Initial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $24,297,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 16,990,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,573,000 after purchasing an additional 617,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in Rentokil Initial in the 3rd quarter valued at $14,820,000. Institutional investors own 9.91% of the company’s stock.

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.