Rentokil Initial (RTO) Competitors

WPP (LON:WPP) and Rentokil Initial (LON:RTO) are both mid-cap business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, media sentiment and dividends.

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, WPP or RTO?

Rentokil Initial has lower revenue, but higher earnings than WPP. Rentokil Initial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than WPP, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WPP	£14.89B	0.30	£203.92M	£18.93	21.87
Rentokil Initial	£5.38B	1.59	£389.49M	£15.59	21.87

Does the media refer more to WPP or RTO?

In the previous week, WPP had 30 more articles in the media than Rentokil Initial. MarketBeat recorded 30 mentions for WPP and 0 mentions for Rentokil Initial. Rentokil Initial's average media sentiment score of 0.00 beat WPP's score of -0.02 indicating that Rentokil Initial is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
WPP	Neutral
Rentokil Initial	Neutral

Is WPP or RTO more profitable?

Rentokil Initial has a net margin of 7.25% compared to WPP's net margin of 1.37%. Rentokil Initial's return on equity of 9.50% beat WPP's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WPP	1.37%	5.92%	1.53%
Rentokil Initial	7.25%	9.50%	4.11%

Which has more volatility and risk, WPP or RTO?

WPP has a beta of 1.13, suggesting that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rentokil Initial has a beta of 0.55, suggesting that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is WPP or RTO a better dividend stock?

WPP pays an annual dividend of GBX 39 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.4%. Rentokil Initial pays an annual dividend of GBX 9 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. WPP pays out 206.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Rentokil Initial pays out 57.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Do analysts rate WPP or RTO?

WPP currently has a consensus target price of GBX 715, suggesting a potential upside of 72.70%. Rentokil Initial has a consensus target price of GBX 488.33, suggesting a potential upside of 43.25%. Given WPP's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe WPP is more favorable than Rentokil Initial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WPP	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75
Rentokil Initial	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of WPP or RTO?

65.3% of WPP shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.0% of Rentokil Initial shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of WPP shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Rentokil Initial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

WPP and Rentokil Initial tied by winning 9 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.