Rentokil Initial (RTO) Competitors

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

Do analysts rate WCN or RTO?

Waste Connections currently has a consensus target price of $212.29, indicating a potential upside of 18.03%. Given Waste Connections' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Waste Connections is more favorable than Rentokil Initial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Waste Connections	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	4 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.05
Rentokil Initial	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80

Does the media favor WCN or RTO?

In the previous week, Waste Connections had 24 more articles in the media than Rentokil Initial. MarketBeat recorded 28 mentions for Waste Connections and 4 mentions for Rentokil Initial. Waste Connections' average media sentiment score of 0.45 beat Rentokil Initial's score of 0.17 indicating that Waste Connections is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Waste Connections	13 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Rentokil Initial	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is WCN or RTO more profitable?

Waste Connections has a net margin of 6.93% compared to Rentokil Initial's net margin of 0.00%. Waste Connections' return on equity of 15.74% beat Rentokil Initial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Waste Connections	6.93%	15.74%	6.36%
Rentokil Initial	N/A	N/A	N/A

Is WCN or RTO a better dividend stock?

Waste Connections pays an annual dividend of $1.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Rentokil Initial pays an annual dividend of $0.69 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Waste Connections pays out 51.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Rentokil Initial pays out 45.7% 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 increased its dividend for 8 consecutive years. Rentokil Initial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

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

86.1% of Waste Connections shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 9.9% of Rentokil Initial shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Waste Connections shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has better valuation & earnings, WCN or RTO?

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
Waste Connections	$8.92B	5.21	$617.57M	$2.43	74.01
Rentokil Initial	$6.95B	1.75	$392.32M	$1.51	15.97

Which has more risk and volatility, WCN or RTO?

Waste Connections has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rentokil Initial has a beta of 0.94, indicating that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Waste Connections beats Rentokil Initial on 17 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.