Rentokil Initial (RTO) Competitors

Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) and Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) are both large-cap business services companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, media sentiment and dividends.

Which has more risk and volatility, RTO or WCN?

Rentokil Initial has a beta of 0.92, suggesting that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Waste Connections has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has better earnings and valuation, RTO or WCN?

Waste Connections has higher revenue and earnings than Rentokil Initial. Rentokil Initial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Waste Connections, 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
Rentokil Initial	$6.95B	1.73	$392.32M	$1.51	15.72
Waste Connections	$8.92B	5.41	$617.57M	$2.48	75.26

Is RTO or WCN more profitable?

Waste Connections has a net margin of 6.97% compared to Rentokil Initial's net margin of 0.00%. Waste Connections' return on equity of 15.72% beat Rentokil Initial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rentokil Initial	N/A	N/A	N/A
Waste Connections	6.97%	15.72%	6.32%

Do analysts recommend RTO or WCN?

Waste Connections has a consensus target price of $215.00, suggesting a potential upside of 15.20%. Given Waste Connections' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Waste Connections is more favorable than Rentokil Initial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rentokil Initial	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Waste Connections	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	5 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.11

Does the media prefer RTO or WCN?

In the previous week, Waste Connections had 39 more articles in the media than Rentokil Initial. MarketBeat recorded 45 mentions for Waste Connections and 6 mentions for Rentokil Initial. Rentokil Initial's average media sentiment score of 1.06 beat Waste Connections' score of 0.09 indicating that Rentokil Initial is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Rentokil Initial	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Waste Connections	13 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	7 Negative mention(s)	6 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is RTO or WCN a better dividend stock?

Rentokil Initial pays an annual dividend of $0.69 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Waste Connections pays an annual dividend of $1.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Rentokil Initial pays out 45.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Waste Connections pays out 50.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Waste Connections has raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years. Rentokil Initial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do insiders & institutionals believe in RTO or WCN?

9.9% of Rentokil Initial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.1% of Waste Connections shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Waste Connections shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Waste Connections beats Rentokil Initial on 16 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.